India vs England: T Natarajan regains fitness; spotted in the dugout during 4th T20I

Ahead of the fifth T20 International and three-match ODI series against England, India received a piece of good news. It is learnt that the team’s celebrated left-arm seamer Thangarasu Natarajan has joined the squad in Ahmedabad and is fit to take the field after undergoing his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

The 29-year-old had made his debut for the Men in Blue across all the formats during the India tour of Australia 2020-21 after a stunning performance in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL ) for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The yorker sensation made a dream debut in ODIs and T20Is as he had managed to impress the who’s who of the cricket fraternity.

T Natarajan had featured in three T20 Internationals against Australia scalping a stunning six wickets at an economy rate of 6.91 and an average of 13.8. He featured in the Playing XI of a lone One Day International and ended up picking 2 scalps at an economy rate of 7 and an average of 35. Coming to the Tests, Natarajan played just one game and scalped three wickets in India’s Gabba heist.

T Natarajan had suffered a knee injury

After the Australia tour, the seamer was given a break as BCCI rested him for the four-match Test series against England but named him in the squad for the five-match T20I and three-match ODI series against the same opponent. However, the 29-year-old sustained a knee niggle that had ruled him out of the first couple of games of the five-match series.

Meanwhile, the left-handed pacer is now ready to take the field as he passed all the necessary fitness tests at NCA and has also completed his mandatory quarantine period before joining the Indian contingent.

“Natarajan has passed all the mandatory fitness tests including Yo Yo and 2 km run. He had flown into Ahmedabad a few days back but had to undergo mandatory hard quarantine since he was not a part of the bubble. Today, his quarantine got over and he could sit in the dugout. He will certainly be available for selection in the next game also and for the 50 over games,” a senior official said as quoted by Times of India