5 players who rose to stardom after TNPL 2016

#5 T Natarajan

Nattu’s impressive performances earned him an IPL contract with the Kings XI Punjab

Arguably the biggest success story of the inaugural edition of the TNPL has to be Thangarasu Natarajan (Nattu). From playing tennis ball cricket in his hometown, Nattu's performances in the inaugural edition of the TNPL saw him being compared with Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman.

Unlike most cricketers, who start young, Nattu's story is quite different but thanks to his incredible ability to execute his yorkers that earned him 10 wickets in seven matches for Dindigul Dragons in TNPL 2016, the 26-year-old has risen rapidly through the ranks. After his impressive TNPL exploits, he made his debut for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.

Even there, the left-arm pacer had a marvellous start as he picked up 27 wickets from 9 matches. He then played T20s for Tamil Nadu before he was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for INR 3 crore during the IPL Auction 2017 despite the fact that he had a base price of just 10 lakh. He didn't get a regular run in the side, though, as he played just six matches but picked up two wickets.

But it was thanks to the TNPL that the 26-year-old was thrust into the spotlight that earned him a massive IPL contract and put him on the radar of Indian selectors as well.