T Natarajan Hungry For More Success In International Cricket

Whenever the Indian tour of Australia will be discussed in the future, the discussion will not end without the mention of left-arm pacer T Natarajan.

The Chinnappampatti pacer has had a fairytale past four months that has seen him capture the imagination of the nation.

Natarajan turned heads during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad during IPL 2020 due to his ability to nail yorkers at will. The southpaw eventually ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker for the ‘Orange Army’ and his performances ensured that he was named as one of the net bowlers for the Australian tour. However, an injury to Varun Chakravarthy paved way for his inclusion into the T20I squad.

But bigger things were in store for Natarajan. On the eve of the first ODI against Australia, Navdeep Saini complained of a niggle, leading to the southpaw being drafted into the 5o-over set-up. After India lost back-to-back ODIs, T Natarajan was given an opportunity in the dead rubber, where he once again impressed with his skills as well as his temperament, returning with figures of 2/70.

Natarajan continued to impress in the T20I series that followed as he successfully spearheaded the Indian attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. He claimed six wickets across three games and his performances urged the Indian thinktank to hold him back as a net bowler for the Test series.

And, as faith would have it, the southpaw made his Test debut in the series decider at the Gabba following a whole host of injuries to the first-choice fast bowlers. He claimed three crucial wickets in the first innings which paved way for India to restrict Australia to a manageable 369.

Natarajan was given a heroic welcome following his return to his home town and naturally the 29-year-old is ecstatic about what has transpired in the past four months.

“The Australia tour was like a dream tour for me,” T Natarajan told reporters during an interaction on Sunday.

Having said that, T Natarajan is not ready to rest on his laurels. Having tasted success in international cricket, he is now hungry to achieve more.

“I want to achieve more and reach a better position in the Indian team. I still have many miles to go,” he said.

Also Read: I think I Have Done Enough To Say I Am The Best Spinner: Ravichandran Ashwin