Ravichandran Ashwin has opined his views on the absence of a Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer from the Duleep Trophy squads for 2024.
Ravichandran Ashwin has opined his views on the absence of a Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer from the Duleep Trophy squads for 2024. The speedster was among the finest bowlers this edition, picking wickets consistently for the runners-up.
T Natarajan, who has been with SRH for a while, can’t find a place in the Duleep Trophy due to his prolonged absence from red-ball cricket. Ashwin, who knows Natarajan well, has stated on his YouTube channel that the pacer would have been in the squad had he played ample cricket in the longest format.
“I feel Natarajan is a fantastic white-ball bowler. He did well in IPL this year. His last first-class match was Australia vs India at Brisbane January 15th in 2021. He has not put himself on the park for the last 3 years. He is broken down when he’s picked and he is not played.”
“We are backing him a lot. I like Natarajan a lot. He is a very good guy. But, just for the sake of it, I won’t say it today. If Natarajan played red-ball cricket and made it to Tamil Nadu, I will definitely say that he should play there.”
T Natarajan’s last outing in red-ball format came during his Test debut against Australia in January 2021 in Brisbane when India registered a historic win with the second-string unit. Since then, he has featured across white-ball formats but remained absent from red-ball squads.
He was part of Tamil Nadu’s squad for the Ranji Trophy 2024 but didn’t play any game throughout the edition. Hence, it all led to his omission from the Duleep Trophy squads where priority was given to top performers in domestic cricket.
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The knee surgery in 2021 put brakes on his red-ball career and has not resumed yet. However, Natarajan has been an asset for Sunrisers Hyderabad over the years and bowled crucial overs for his team consistently.
He was the fourth leading wicket-taker in IPL 2024, picking 19 wickets at an average of 24.47 in 14 innings. Natarajan might be among the retentions from Sunrisers Hyderabad before the IPL 2025 mega auction.
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