Former Indian Test specialist VVS Laxman has picked T Natarajan as the specialist death bowler for the Indian team with the World T20 coming up next year. Having groomed the left-arm pacer at Sunrisers Hyderabad, Laxman is confident of Natarajan’s ability to execute perfect yorkers.
Natarajan picked up 16 wickets in IPL 2020 and his wickets included Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and AB De Villiers. He was named as a replacement for Varun Chakravarty after the latter was ruled out of the Australia tour owing to a shoulder injury.
While speaking to SportStar Laxman spoke extensively on Natarajan’s ability to bowl consistent yorkers. He also said that Natarajan being a left-armer will provide the much-needed variety to the Indian bowling line-up in Australia and the World T20 next year.
Natarajan is India’s X-Factor- VVS Laxman
“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 the sports magazine.
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VVS Laxman further stressed on Natarajan’s ability to bowl consistent yorkers which sets him apart from the rest of the bowlers. The left-arm pacer has already got down to practice after landing in Australia.
T 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” added the SRH mentor.
Laxman remembered seeing Natarajan first in the TNPL and seeing him bowl brilliant yorkers.
“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 concluded.
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