India captain Virat Kohli has said that T Natarajan could compete for the T20 World Cup next year at home if the left-arm closer builds on his impressive start in Australia. On his first international tour, Natarajan stepped up with his slower yorkers and variations, in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, helping India win the T20I series 2-1. Natarajan also made an impact on his ODI debut, choosing the grounds of Marnus Labuchange and Ashton Agar in another match-winning spell in Game 3 of the series.
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“Natarajan – special mention for him because in the absence of [Mohammed] Shami and Bumrah, he’s been the guy who has stood up and has really delivered under pressure, which is remarkable for the fact that he’s playing his first international matches, “Kohli said during a virtual media interaction. . ” He is very serene, very sure of what he wants to do. He’s a very hard-working guy, very humble, and you feel happy for the guys who are committed and who work hard for the team when they get the results and make the team win.
“So I wish him all the best and I hope he continues to work hard on his game and improve because a left-arm pitcher is always an advantage for any team. So if he can shoot that well consistently, he will. It will be a great thing. for us to go to [T20] World Cup next year. “
Natarajan, you were outstanding on this series. To perform brilliantly in difficult conditions on your debut in India says a lot about your talent and hard work. You deserve the Series Man on my side, bhai! congratulations to #TeamIndia in the victory pic.twitter.com/gguk4WIlQD
– hardik pandya (@ hardikpandya7) December 8, 2020
The T20I leg of the tour ended with Natarajan posing with the series trophy and the Player of the Series trophy, which Hardik Pandya had presented to him, in the team photo. First of all, Natarajan wasn’t supposed to be on the India T20I team. He was originally chosen as a net thrower, but an injury to mysterious spinner Varun Chakravarthy opened an opportunity for him and he seized it with six wickets topping the list at a 6.91 economy rate in a high-scoring T20I series.
Speaking to Sony Pictures Network, Natarajan said that he wasn’t overwhelmed with expectations and was simply leaning on himself to execute his skills.
“I am very happy to have played against a good team in Australia and to have won the series,” said Natarajan. “I have no words to describe my happiness. I didn’t have high expectations. I just came as a net thrower and then due to some injuries I had a chance. I just wanted to take that opportunity. I was in good shape. On the IPL that helped me. Everyone around me supported and encouraged me, so I had the confidence to do well here. “
In the second T20I, Natarajan proved that there is more to him than just the yorker, throwing attackers onto the Sydney field and threatening the edges of the bat. In a used Sydney field on Tuesday, Natarajan deployed more cutters to push Australia back in the slog overs.
“I just backed up my strengths: the yorkers and cutters. Depending on the conditions, I ask the wicketkeeper or the captain if I need to throw slower or yorker. I adapt to that depending on that. I didn’t change too much about my bowling pin. All that. I did at the IPL, I wanted to do it in Australia and I wanted to run it cleanly. “
It’s been an incredible couple of months for Natarajan. On the day he became a father, he gave AB de Villiers what arguably was the 2020 IPL ball. He then received his T20I cap from one of his heroes, Bumrah, earlier this month in Canberra. If Natarajan continues to evolve, he might well be bowling alongside Bumrah at the 2021 T20 World Cup in death overs.
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