T. Natrajan has not been playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past couple of games due to a knee injury. After getting the team’s first win against SRH skipper David Warner has revealed that the pacer is not able to leave the bubble for scans because of SOP protocols.
“He obviously has got a sore knee. Given the circumstances in these bubbles, if he goes and gets a scan, he obviously has to sit out for seven days; he has to go back into quarantine. We are just monitoring at the moment.”
Last month, Natarajan had to miss the first three T20Is against England because of knee trouble. He was finally picked for the fifth one in which he went for 1 for 39 in four overs. He also played the final ODI against England in Pune, registering figures of 1 for 79 from ten overs.
Natarajan had first started gaining attention during IPL 2020, where his yorkers made him a difficult bowler to score against in the death overs. After an impressive IPL campaign, he was picked as a net bowler for the Australia tour and ended up making his debut for India in all three formats.
With him on the bench, SRH brought Khaleel Ahmed in the starting XI during the last two games. Ahmed stepped up against Punjab Kings and took three wickets in his economical spell of four overs. Sunrisers eventually clinched the first win of IPL 2021 against Punjab Kings courtesy of complete performance with bat and ball.
Natarajan can be adequately replaced for the time being since SRH has good depth in the bowling department. However, SRH will be hoping that he recovers in time for the second half of IPL 2021 when stakes will be high regarding a place in the playoffs. As of now, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed will be leading the pace attack for SRH.