IPL 2020: Who is T Natarajan? Everything you need to know about SRH's new bowling sensation
The Tamil Nadu-based pacer was roped in by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, for a base price of ₹40 lakh. He had made his Indian Premier League debut with Kings XI Punjab in 2017. He has also played for a couple of teams in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
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FollowFormer champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) came up with an impressive gameplay display, as they tamed Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 11 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. One of the talking points of the entire game was SRH's new pace sensation T Natarajan.
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Natarajan was prolific with his bowling, as he finished with figures of 1/25. What was notable was his consistency in bowling yorkers, which indeed troubled the DC batsmen, hardly giving them any room to score.
Surely, Natarajan would be the man to watch out for SRH in the next few games. However, fans are wondering as to who is this new pace sensation for the side. Here are some things you need to know about him.
Hails from Tamil Nadu: Natarajan hails from the Salem district in Tamil Nadu and happens to play for the state. He made his First-Class debut in January 2015, followed by his Twenty20 (T20) debut a couple of years later, while he made his List-A debut in September 2018.
Rose to prominence during TNPL: Natarajan's big rise came in the state-run T20 league, Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Playing for Dindigul Dragons, he claimed 10 wickets in just seven matches.
Pacer who bowls off-cutter: In what could be said as a striking resemblance of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, he is ideally a medium-pace bowler, who has a weapon in the form of some off-cutters. His ability to bowl yorkers is an added ammunition in his arsenal, as during a TNPL game against Tuti Patriots, he bowled six consecutive yorkers during a Super Over to choke state captain Abhinav Mukund and Washington Sundar.
Most effective in T20s: So far, Natarajan has been the most effective in the shortest format of the game. As per his T20 stats, he has claimed 22 wickets in 25 matches at an economy of 7.17, while he has his best career bowling average in the format, of 25.50.
Highest bid for uncapped in 2017 IPL Auction: Owing to his success in the TNPL, he drew big bucks during the 2017 IPL Auction. In what turned out to be his debut team in the tournament, he was roped in by Kings Xi Punjab (KXIP) for a whopping price of ₹3 crore, against a base price of ₹10 lakh. It happened to the highest bid for an uncapped player during the auction.
