Team India are gearing up to take on Australia in the two-month-long series starting from November 27 and with the new names making it to the squad, VVS Laxman feels there is a player who could be the x-factor.
When the three Indian squads for the tour of Australia was picked a name that wasn’t expected was T Natarajan. However, he got a chance after the injury to Varun Chakravarthy who was grappling with a shoulder injury which he picked during the IPL 2020.
Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Natarajan made heads turn with his yorkers and the franchise mentor believes that this is what India need especially in the death overs.
The former India batsman, who knows about playing against Australia, feels Natarajan could be a handy pick not only for the T20Is but also the T20 World Cup next year in India.
“With the T20 World Cup scheduled next year - if you look at the Indian team, it requires someone good at the death. It is great to see the likes of Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini bowl with such confidence in the death. Natarajan being a left-armer will be the X-factor,” Laxman told Sportstar.
The left-arm quick, who is mostly associated with yorkers, has plenty of stocks up his sleeve, belives Laxman. “Natarajan was always known for those yorkers - even in the TNPL. But, I must say he got a lot of variations which he didn’t use in the IPL. He has a sharp bouncer, slower one, off-cutter and has the wicket-taking ability with the new ball,” Laxman explained.
“Essentially, Natarajan has the mindset and the confidence of executing yorkers which we generally believe to be the toughest to deliver. And, he has done consistently and exceedingly well through the IPL, the pick of them being the dismissal of RCB’s AB de Villiers under pressure.”