Australia vs India: T Natarajan added to the ODI squad ahead of the series opener

Team India is all set to make its international comeback after a long gap of nine months with the three-match ODI series against Australia. The first game is set to be played in Sydney on Friday and the visitors have once again suffered an injury setback. Pacer Navdeep Saini has complained of back spasm ahead of the encounter and the selectors have decided to add T Natarajan to the ODI squad.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) might potentially end up making his debut now if the management decides to go in with his left-arm angle which provides variety to the attack. Meanwhile, Natarajan’s constant rise at the highest level continues and interestingly, he was not even in the main squad.

Varun Chakravarthy’s shoulder injury got him into the T20I squad and now Navdeep Saini’s back spasm has earned him his maiden ODI call-up. However, the BCCI has added him into the squad as a back-up according to its press release and it remains to be seen if he ends up playing the series opener. It could well be a toss up between T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur now and the latter could be preferred given his experience, albeit little, at the international level.

T Natarajan had a great IPL 2020

T Natarajan who first hogged the limelight in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is now reaping the rewards for his excellent performance in the IPL 2020. He nailed his yorkers at will throughout the tournament and the delivery which knocked AB de Villiers‘ stumps was considered one of the best in the cash-rich league.

Natarajan was the second-highest wicket-taker for SRH in the tournament with 16 scalps to his name in as many matches. His economy of 8.02 is also impressive given that he bowled at difficult times for his team. The 29-year-old will be keen on making the most of this opportunity now and deliver if he gets a chance.

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.