[Picture] “Honored to return to where it all began!” – SRH’s T Natarajan pays a visit to his school as chief guest
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer T Natarajan on Thursday (August 29) paid a visit to his school as chief guest. The left-arm pacer reminisced his childhood days while expressing gratitude to Govt Higher Secondary school in Chinnappampatti, Salem, where he began his journey to the top.
Natarajan has represented India across formats, playing four T20Is, two ODIs and one Test, picking up 13 wickets across formats. The left-arm pacer, though, went out of reckoning after a few months of his national debut. He, however, has been a regular in the Indian Premier League, picking up 67 wickets in 61 matches.
T Natarajan shared a selfie with the students at his school. The 33-year-old captioned his post:
“Honored to return to where it all began! Thank you, Govt Higher Secondary School, Chinnappampatti, for inviting me as the Chief Guest. Proud to be back home!”
Take a look:
“His last first-class match was Australia vs India at Brisbane” – Ravichandran Ashwin questions absence of T Natarajan in Duleep Trophy
Ravichandran Ashwin has questioned the BCCI for ignoring T Natarajan in the Duleep Trophy, which begins on September 5. Ashwin said that the left-arm pacer has delivered whenever he has had opportunities in both red-ball and white-ball formats.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel (via Hindustan Times):
“I feel Natarajan is a fantastic white-ball bowler. He did well in IPL this year. His last first-class match was Australia vs India at Brisbane January 15th in 2021. He has not put himself on the park for the last 3 years. He is broken down when he's picked, and he is not played.
"We are backing him a lot. I like Natarajan a lot. He is a very good guy. But, just for the sake of it, I won't say it today. If Natarajan played red-ball cricket and made it to Tamil Nadu, I will definitely say that he should play there," he added.
T Natarajan dismissed Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Josh Hazlewood in the first innings of the Border-Gavaskar series decider in 2021. It was also his debut Test. Team India won the match by three wickets to seal the series 2-1, registering back-to-back Test series wins Down Under.
Natarajan finished with 19 scalps in 14 matches in the IPL at an economy rate of 9.06 last season. He helped the SunRisers reach the IPL 2024 final, where they lost to eventual champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Salem-born player bagged 12 wickets in eight matches for iDream Tiruppur in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2024 season, where Ashwin led Dindigul Dragons to their maiden trophy in the T20 tournament.