India tour of Australia: T Natarajan added to India’s ODI squad as back-up for Navdeep Saini


India tour of Australia: T Natarajan added to India’s ODI squad as back-up for Navdeep Saini
Credits: T Natarajan (@natarajan_jayaprakash on Instagram)

Tamil Nadu and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) fast-bowler T Natarajan has been added to India’s ODI squad for their tour of Australia as back-up for Navdeep Saini who has complained of a back spasm. The news comes after Natarajan earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team’s T20I squad following an injury to Varun Chakravarthy. He was initially chosen as a net bowler but now is a part of both the limited-overs squads.

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T Natarajan earned a reputation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for bowling yorkers at will. The left-arm pacer finished with the highest number of yorkers bowled in the tournament. The 29-year-old picked up wickets of big names like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni in the tournament.

Rohit’s availability to be decided on December 11; Ishant out of tour

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) through an official release conveyed the news of T Natarajan’s inclusion. The release also clarified on the fitness of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. The release stated that, “Rohit Sharma’s next assessment will be conducted on December 11th following which the BCCI will have clarity on his participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.”

The release also confirmed reports that were going around that Rohit had to attend to his ailing father and hence did not travel to Australia with the Indian contingent. “Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation,” the release said.

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The BCCI also confirmed that Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the tour. The release said, “Ishant has recovered completely from his side strain injury sustained during IPL 2020 in the U.A.E. While he’s building up his workload in order to achieve Test match fitness, Ishant has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”

Also Read: India tour of Australia: ‘We are looking at giving opportunities to younger players,’ says Indian skipper Virat Kohli