T Natarajan, the 30-year-old left-arm pacer, is a new discovery for the Indian cricket team. During the Australia tour, he performed exceptionally well and was lethal with his yorkers.
Recently, Natarajan revealed how MS Dhoni’s advice helped him. In IPL 2020, he bowled Dhoni in the slot and was whacked for a 102 metre six. He backed up his instincts and dismissed Dhoni on the very next delivery.
After the match, Dhoni advised Nattu to work on his slow bouncers, cutters, and variations.
“He said, use slow bouncers, cutters, and variations like that. It has been useful for me,” the left-arm seamer was quoted as saying.
Dhoni even told Natarajan to work on his fitness, and with experience, he would improve as a bowler.
Natarajan said, “Speaking to somebody like Dhoni itself is a big thing. He spoke to me about fitness and encouraged me, saying that I will keep getting better with experience.”
In another match, the Salem-born had two surprises waiting for him. One, he took the wicket of AB de Villers, and second, he became a father.
“On one side there was my girl and on the other side, I got that wicket in an important knockout game. Romba santhosham (I was extremely happy), but I didn’t really tell the others (about the baby).”
In the previous edition of IPL, he took 16 wickets and bowled 71 yorkers. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are scheduled to play their first match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 11th April.