Was confident about my ability at the death: Natarajan

Natarajan says everyone in the team has helped him deal with the step up to international cricket

December 08, 2020 11:08 pm | Updated 11:08 pm IST

In the spotlight: Natarajan, right, with Hardik.

In the spotlight: Natarajan, right, with Hardik.

After an impressive IPL, T. Natarajan was fast-tracked into the national team and the 29-year-old has proven to be the find of the Australian tour so far with his impressive performances in the T20I series.

The left-arm pacer was a last-minute addition to the T20 squad, replacing Varun Chakravarthy. He even made his one-day debut in the third ODI after being included as cover for Navdeep Saini.

The Tamil Nadu bowler picked up six wickets with an economy rate of just 6.91 per over in the three-match T20 series.

Speaking to Sony TV after the third T20I on Tuesday, Natarajan shared his thoughts about the tour and his approach.

Feels extraordinary

“I was not expecting anything as I just came as a net bowler. I got an opportunity and wanted to utilise it well,” said Natarajan. “Just to do well in Australia against such a good team feels extraordinary.

“Everyone in the team helped me a lot and the fact that I was in good form during the IPL also helped,” he added.

The pacer’s strength has always been his yorker, right from the time he came into the limelight during the TNPL’s inaugural edition in 2016, and he said he just focused on backing his strengths.

“My strength has always been my ability to bowl those yorkers and cutters. I took advice from the wicketkeeper and captain to find the nature of the wicket and adapted accordingly.

“So I was confident with my yorkers and slower ones in the death overs. I wanted to do what I did in IPL and just focused on executing it clearly,” he explained

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