Missed T Natarajan’s death bowling during T20 World Cup: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri and T Natarajan

Former coach Ravi Shastri has hailed T Natarajan as a death bowling specialist, saying the Indian team missed the left-arm pacer sorely during its T20 World Cup debacle in UAE.

Natarajan, who came to limelight in India's historic Test series win Down Under in early 2021, suffered a knee injury and missed most part of the year before making a comeback in Sunrisers Hyderabad's second match of the IPL-15 on Monday. "Very happy for him. We missed him in the World Cup. He would've been a certainty had he been fit," Shastri told ESPNCricinfo.

India had made a heartbreaking group stage exit in the T20 World Cup in 2021.

"He got injured against England when we were playing the ODI series and we really missed him [in the World Cup].

"He's that specialist death bowler, bowls those yorkers very skilfully. He's got great control. He is skiddy. A bit quicker than you think and hits the bat," Shastri said.

Natarajan, 31, who was bought back by SRH for R4 crore, made a fine comeback after 12 months, picking 2-26 from his full quota of four overs, even as they suffered their second defeat on the trot with a 12-run loss.

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