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Tamil Nadu and Team India Left-arm pacer T Natarajan has admitted to focusing only on white-ball cricket and avoiding the longest format for the time being due to recurring knee issues. The 33-year-old has not played a red-ball game since his Test debut against Australia in Brisbane in 2021.
While Natarajan played a key role in helping India pull off a memorable series win with his 3/78 in the first innings, he has struggled with injuries that have led to his absence in the longer format for his state.
Despite attempting a comeback after being named in the Tamil Nadu squad for the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy, Natarajan had to pull out with injury.
Speaking to TOI from his hometown Salem, he opened up about his absence from red-ball cricket.
"It has been almost four years since I played red-ball cricket. It is not that I do not want to play red-ball cricket, but I feel that it makes my workload heavier. Right now, I am avoiding red-ball cricket. When the workload is heavy, I am having issues on my knee. So, I have stopped playing," said Natarajan.
Natarajan was last seen in action playing for the Tiruppur Tamizhans in the 2024 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) that concluded last month. He finished as the tournament's fourth-leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps in eight outings at an average of 17.50 and an economy of 7.77.
"I love red-ball cricket more than white-ball cricket" - T Natarajan
T Natarajan clarified that he was not done playing red-ball cricket and will reassess after two years of training to see if he can return to his favorite format.
The veteran pacer has played 21 first-class matches for Tamil Nadu, picking up 67 wickets at an impressive average of 27.59 with three five-wicket hauls.
"I love red-ball cricket more than white-ball cricket. Whenever I played red-ball cricket, I enjoyed it a lot. If things go to plan, I will play after a few years. If I train well for the next two years, there are chances for me to return. But right now, I am only looking at white-ball cricket," said Natarajan in the aforementioned interview.
Renowned for his death-bowling skills, Natarajan played a massive part in the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) qualifying for the IPL 2024 final with 19 wickets in 14 games.
His next outing will likely be for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in November.
