IND v AUS 2020: 'T Natarajan showed he has the potential to win games for India' - Harbhajan Singh
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has lavished praise on newcomer T Natarajan. He stated that the left-arm pacer is full of confidence and has been an integral part of India's T20I series win over Australia.
After returning figures of 2 for 70 on his ODI debut on December 2, T Natarajan has impressed one and all in the ongoing T20I series. He picked up 3 for 30 in his maiden T20I appearance, and followed it up with a match-haul of 2 for 20 from 4 overs on Sunday (December 6). India won the T20Is by 11 runs and 6 wickets respectively.
In an interview with India Today, Harbhajan Singh sounded happy seeing T Natarajan’s hard work reaping rewards. Bhajji threw light on the Tamil Nadu paceman’s success story, saying that hard work and self-belief can help anyone scale any height.
“Well, I am so happy for Natarajan. They way he has gone about his life and the way he is performing is unbelievable. It shows you that if you keep the faith and keep working hard and believe in yourselves, anything is possible,” Harbhajan Singh said.
He further added that T Natarajan’s potential to win India matches comes from the fact that he oozes confidence and backs his skills. After nailing the most number of yorkers (71) in IPL 2020, the 29-year-old has also showcased his bouncers and cutters on Australian soil.
“He has been a brilliant bowler for India in this series. He has been one of those major pillars in this series. Picking up wickets when India needed those wickets," he added.
"He showed he has the potential to be there and win games for Team India. He is someone who is very confident, whatever I have seen on screen, he is not afraid of getting hit. That’s something very special. At that level, all that matters is how confident you are,” Bhajji elaborated.
‘If T Natarajan becomes Man of the Series, it will boost his confidence’ - Harbhajan
T Natarajan is the leading wicket-taker in the T20I series so far, having scalped 5 wickets at an impressive average of 8. Harbhajan believes that the SRH speedster is well on course to bag the Man of the Series award, which in turn would do his confidence a world of good.
“If he becomes Man of the Series, it will boost his confidence and how. Becoming Man of the Series against Australia and that too in Australia will be a big, big boost for him. It’s a big plus for Team India. It’s a great story...where he has come from and what he is doing for Team India,” Harbhajan added.
However, the legendary off-spinner acknowledged that the more matches T Natarajan plays, batsmen will start picking him better and playing him with more ease.
“I think he is raw, he has not been seen in international cricket. There is not much footage about him. More he will play, batsmen will judge his line, length and pace. It’s going to get tougher. He needs to work hard on his game and keep improving,” Harbhajan, who picked up 711 wickets in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, concluded.
The final match of the white-ball leg of India’s 2020-21 tour Down Under will take place at the SCG on Tuesday (December 8). It’ll be intriguing to see whether T Natarajan can sustain his purple patch and win the Man of the Series award.