IND v AUS 2020: 'India have found their left-arm option in T Natarajan going into the T20 World Cup,' states Brad Hogg
Former Australia left-arm unorthodox spinner Brad Hogg believes that fast bowler T Natarajan has been the biggest positive for the Indian team in their limited-overs leg Down Under.
Picking up a couple of wickets on his ODI debut at Canberra, Natarajan was able to bring his fine form into the T20I series. He picked up six wickets in the three T20Is, helping the Men in Blue win the series 2-1.
Natarajan had made a reputation for himself in the IPL 2020 season as someone who nails his yorkers to perfection.
He managed to live up to that reputation in the T20I series as the Australian batsmen found it difficult to score runs off his bowling, especially at the death.
Thus, Brad Hogg is of the opinion that the Indian team have found a brilliant left-arm option in Natarajan, particularly with the T20 World Cup less than a year away.
Brad Hogg feels that his addition will bring more quality and variety to the Indian bowling attack.
"The pick for me from India is Natarajan. He is the pick of the bowlers from all the Indians in the three games. It is just the way that he handled the pressure in the death overs and his variety - slower balls, wide yorkers, yorkers at the feet, he was phenomenal. Left-arm option going into the T20 World Cup, India have found it." Brad Hogg said in a video on his YouTube channel.
No.4 and No.5 positions are big holes for the Indian team: Brad Hogg
Although the Men in Blue managed to win the T20I series, it did not cover up their cracks in the middle-order. The likes of Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey could not make the most of their opportunities to cement their place in the playing XI.
Brad Hogg thinks that India can try playing KL Rahul in the middle-order in T20Is once Rohit Sharma returns at the top of the order. However, he also doubts whether Rahul's strike-rate is high enough to be suited to play in that position.
"Who is going to bat at No.4 and No.5 for India? That is the big hole for them. When Rohit Sharma comes back, can they have Rahul batting in that position? Does he have the strike-rate to fill the void there? Because Samson and Iyer found wanting a little bit there," Brad Hogg asserted.
The likes of Adam Zampa and Mitchell Swepson formed a great leg-spin partnership and troubled the Indian batsmen throughout the T20I series.
Brad Hogg opined that since the Men in Blue have many right-handed batsmen in their line-up, they must try and have a southpaw in the middle-order who could counter the leg-spin threat from the opposition.
"Also, they might have to look at a left-handed batting option at No.4 and No.5, just to handle or take on the leg-spin options that Australia have. So if a team goes into the World Cup against India with two right-arm leg-spinners because India have got a predominantly top-order heavy right-handed combination, so they might have to find someone to counter the leg-spin there," Brad Hogg further added.
With the limited-overs series coming to an end, the focus now shifts to red-ball cricket with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy fast approaching.
The first Test between India and Australia will be played at Adelaide from December 17 and will be a Day-Night encounter.