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IND vs AUS | T Natarajan Has Put Mohammed Shami Under Pressure as T20I Bowler: Sanjay Manjrekar

Manjrekar further talked about Natarajan's versatility with the ball and how he dismissed Glenn Maxwell with a length delivery.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the T Natarajan has put Mohammed Shami under-pressure as a T20I bowler. Natarajan, who made his international debut in third ODI against Australia, has impressed many with his bowling with his ability to hit yorker-length well. On the other hand, Shami is going through a lean patch as he managed to pick only 4 wickets in the ODI series and was hammered in the first T20I, where he remained wicketless after leaking 46 runs.

Natarajan had mixed experience in the third ODI where he took two wickets for 70 runs. While in the first T20I, the left-arm seamer shone with the ball and scalped three for just 30 in his quota of four overs. Manjrekar said that Team India will be tempted to have Natarajan along with Jasprit Bumrah as one of his seamers,

“What he has done is he has put Mohammed Shami under pressure as a T20I bowler. Now India will be really tempted to have him along with Bumrah as one of his seamers,” Manjrekar said on Sony Six after India defeated Australia by 11 runs in the T20I series opener.

“This is a guy who can bowl at the death. If you have Bumrah and Natarajan, it just puts pressure on Shami because Chahar is from a different school of swing,” he added.

Natarajan came into limelight during the 2020 edition of Indian Premier League, where picked 16 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The 29-year-old clean bowled Royal Challengers Bangalore’s premier batsman AB de Villiers with a toe-crushing yorker, which was amongst the best balls of the season.

Manjrekar further talked about Natarajan’s versatility with the ball and how he dismissed Glenn Maxwell with a length delivery.

“It’s a great story purely because this is a guy who has come out of nowhere. Today, by playing his first T20I and bowling so well there was a wicket he took off a length ball of Maxwell. He is not a bowler who will get you wickets only with the Yorkers when the batsmen are trying to slog you,” said Manjrekar.

“I just find him amazing. A couple of years ago, who would have thought? He would not have imagined himself in his wildest dreams that he would be challenging the big boys for a place in the Indian team,” he further added.

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