Batting great Sunil Gavaskar heaped rich praise on T Natarajan, saying the left-arm pacer is bubbling with confidence in IPL 2022 after having overcome injury issues. Gavaskar said Natarajan will certainly be in contention for an India comeback and that the pacer is putting the hard yards, setting his sights on the T20 World Cup later this year.
“It’s good to have him back in contention. I am pretty sure, with the way he bowls between the 16th and the 20th over, he will be very much in contention,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Natarajan, who had a dream run in Australia in 2020-21, last played for India in March 2021. A knee injury cut short his stint with SRH in the first half of IPL 2021. He was hit by Covid-19 before the UAE leg of the season and he managed just 2 matches.
Bogged down by recurrence of a knee injury, Natarajan was not able to be a constant for Tamil Nadu in the domestic white-ball tournaments earlier this year.
But having worked hard on his fitness and skills, Natarajan is looking more confident than ever, according to Gavaskar.
“Last year, perhaps, he wasn’t on top of his game. Right now, he is full of confidence. He has had his share of injuries but he is fresh and raring to go. He recognizes that there is a World Cup coming up, he wants to be on that flight to Australia,” he added.
