TAMIL NADU’S HARD NAT

After an extended period away from the field that has made him a hot property with the ball, Natarajan will return to action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, starting November 4. A knee injury – which needed surgery – had put him out of contention for national team selection and prevented him from participating in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021.

A mild bout of COVID-19 then delayed the Sunrisers Hyderabad pace bowler’s comeback by forcing him out of the Indian Premier League Phase 2 in the UAE. Having last made a competitive appearance in April during the IPL first leg in India, Natarajan is motivated to meet the high standards which he has set, firstly with his state side Tamil Nadu.

“I was waiting to play in the second phase of the IPL, but unfortunately contracted the coronavirus. I was upset since I could not play. I am back to normal now. I have been preparing well for the SMAT and the practice sessions have been good. I have been slowly building up for the tournament,” Natarajan told DT Next on Thursday.

“I have been doing some additional gym sessions. Apart from that, I have been following my basic routine. I have been working a lot on my game during practice; nothing much has changed. I would like to execute the plans to the best of my ability,” said Natarajan, who has been sweating it out with his Tamil Nadu teammates in the pre-season camp at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.

Natarajan is delighted to be back in the Tamil Nadu set-up. The pace spearhead wasn’t a part of the SMAT title-winning unit in the previous edition as the BCCI had urged him to take rest following a tiring season. He had missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs) as well, with Tamil Nadu releasing him from the final squad following a BCCI request.

“I was a little upset after missing last season’s SMAT. I am extremely happy to return to the Tamil Nadu team. Only because of it, was I able to reach great heights in the last one year. We have a family-like environment in the Tamil Nadu dressing room,” said Natarajan.

“Our bowling attack is so good. We have a superb set of bowlers in our team. What more can we ask for? Even the batting department looks good. We will do as much as we can to retain the title. We are confident of achieving glory,” signed off Natarajan.