The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on April 15 announced its annual list of contracted cricketers. All the big names made it to the list, but there was one name that missed the list, which surprised many. The list didn’t have the name of India’s emerging yorker king T Natarajan.

Players were given contracts according to the formats they play. A+ Grade contract is given to players who play all three formats. This year the A+ contract was given to just three players, Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Vice-Captain Rohit Sharma, and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Players in A+ grade get 7 crore per year and players in Grade A to get 5 crores. Grade B gets 3 crores and the last category Grade C gets 3 crores.

Why Did T Natarajan Miss Out

T Natarajan caught everyone’s eye as he performed brilliantly in IPL 2020. He was termed by some as the yorker king. This was because of his ability to bowl toe-crushing yorkers. He was also called the find of the tournament. T Natarajan was then picked as a net bowler for the series Down Under, but luck had something else written for him.

T Natarajan was named in the squad as Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Varun Chakravarthy suffered an injury setback. Natarajan impressed everyone in the series against Australia with his brilliant bowling performances. He also made his debut in all three formats in a span of just three months. However Natarajan only played 1 Test, 2 ODI’s, and 4 T20I’s this season. Therefore he did not fulfill the criteria and he did not receive a central contact. Similarly, Prithvi Shaw also failed to grab a contract.

However, if Natarajan features in two more Tests this year or plays 6 T20Is or ODIs before September 2021, he would be included in the annual contract list.

T Natarajan will be seen in action for the Sunrisers Hyderabad against the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 on 17th April (Sunday).