“I saw videos of his bowling” – Virender Sehwag recalls buying T Natarajan in the 2017 IPL auction for KXIP


“I saw videos of his bowling” – Virender Sehwag recalls buying T Natarajan in the 2017 IPL auction for KXIP
T Natarajan

Tamil Nadu and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer T Natarajan has been one of the cricketing stories of the year. The left-arm pacer has gone from strength to strength and having played just 20 first class and 16 List A matches, Natarajan has now found himself donning the Indian jersey against Australia in Australia.

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The journey of the pacer has been a heart-warming one. From a small village in Tamil Nadu called Chinnapampatti, Natarajan who never picked up a cricket ball before the age of 20, has risen through the ranks through sheer talent and self-belief. His dream came true during the 3rd ODI when he made his debut for the national team and picked up two important wickets to help his side win.

‘I was very happy when I picked Natarajan in the IPL’ – Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

Speaking at the post-match show on Sony after the 3rd ODI between India and Australia, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag spoke about picking T Natarajan at the auction in 2017 for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during his time as mentor of the side.

“I was very happy because when I had picked Natarajan in the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab, everyone was asking questions that this player has come who has not even played domestic cricket and came after playing just the TNPL league, so how he was picked at such a huge price,” Sehwag said.

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“I was not bothered about the money but there is a talent. We had a few Tamil Nadu players in our team at the time who told me that he is a very good player who bowls very well in the slog overs and delivers a perfect yorker. I saw his videos and then decided that we will surely take him at the auction because we did not have a death bowler. Unfortunately that year, he had an injury to the elbow or the knee because of which he could not play too many matches. But we won only the matches that he played in and lost all the other matches,” the former batsman added.

Sehwag also expressed excitement and surprise that Natarajan got to play in the ODIs already. “So I was very excited to see that he was getting an opportunity although I was thinking that he would be given a chance in the T20Is but it was a surprise for me that he was played in the ODIs. But whatever happened was good. All the best to T Natarajan. I hope that he keeps on doing well from here and makes his place in the Indian team,” Sehwag signed off.

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