After and impressive IPL 2020, T Natrajan has now been added to the ODI squad. He has been added as a cover for Navdeep Saini. On the eve of the ODI series between India and Australia, the BCCI added 29-year-old pacer T Natarajan to the 50-overs squad as a backup after Navdeep Saini “complained of back spasm”. T Natarajan wasn’t in any of the white-ball squads in the first place, but an injury to his state-mate Varun Chakravarthy got him his maiden national call-up for the T20I leg of the Australia tour.

 

Natarajan has played 15 List A matches so far, picking up 16 wickets at an average of 30.81 and economy rate of 4.30. His rise has been remarkable because it’s unusual for the selectors to pick an uncapped 29-year-old. The last two fast bowlers to make their international debuts for India after 29 were S Aravind in 2015 and Pankaj Singh in 2014. Prior to that, one has to go back to 1994, when Bhupinder Singh Snr. made his ODI debut, and then all the way back to 1958, when Ghulam Guard played the first of his two Tests. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur are the other frontline seam-bowlers. In the meanwhile, In a major blow to the Indian cricket team, senior Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the upcoming 4-match Test series against Australia. The development was confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday night through a statement. “The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added T Natarajan to India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia starting Friday.

Navdeep Saini complained of back spasm and Natarajan has been added as a back-up.” The statement read.

 

India’s ODI squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan.

By Arvind Krishnan

Cricket writer, statistician and analyst. An unorthodox media student, marketing runs in his blood. Sports Marketer and analyst.