T Natarajan's extra effort during lockdown for lead role!

Last few months have been surreal tweeted T Natarajan on Tuesday His first surreal moment was when he made his India debut on December 3 in the third ODI against Australia The second one came after India clinched the T20I series on TuesdayExIndia stumper Bharath ReddyFrom a net bowler on the Australia tour Natarajan ended up being Team Indias top find He seemed destined to play for India replacing the injured Varun Chakravarthy in the T20I team and was brought in as cover for Navdeep Saini in the ODI series Hailing from a tiny village of Chinnappampatti Tamil Nadu Natarajans father was a weaver and his mother sold chickens at a roadside stall He himself thought hed be a porter if not for cricketFor Natarajan 29 this year was going to be crucial to break into the big league In the last couple of IPL seasons he showed potential but set the stage on fire only in the last one when the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer dismissed Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni His ability to bowl yorkers at will against Royal Challengers Bangalore impressed skipper Virat KohliMajor transformationNatarajans major transformation happened during the Coronavirusforced lockdown where he made the maximum of the means available to work on his fitness at home The 20litre water container helped him with weight training the heavy roller was wellutilised to strengthen his muscles the bed was used for pushups and the metal staircase helped him work on his shouldersAlso ReadIND vs AUS Last few months have been surreal says outstanding NatarajanFormer India wicketkeeperBharath Reddy who was instrumental in getting Natarajan to play for Jolly Rovers Cricket Club in 2014 was monitoring the players training during the lockdown I was very impressed with his commitment He used everything he possibly could to work on his fitness His improved fitness helped him perform so well at the top level Reddy told midday from Chennai on WednesdayAs head of cricket at Sanmar Group Chemplast Reddy would ensure every player sent a daily video of their training session He is known for his accurate yorkers Earlier he would bowl around five to six yorkers in a day during the Ranji Trophy I think the training he did during the lockdown helped him strengthen his muscles and gave him the confidence to bowl more yorkers Also the encouragement provided by the Indian teams support staff has made him a better bowler I am sure he can bowl a bit quicker said Reddy Indias search for a leftarm pacer could possibly have ended with Natarajan feels former India pacer Karsan GhavriHes a great prospect GhavriOne hundred per cent we have found a very good leftarm pacer in Natarajan His real test will be in the longer format but he looks a great prospect I just hope he does not breakdown and keeps looking after his fitness said Ghavri Reddy too hopes Natarajan will break into the Test team soon I am now keen to see him make it to the Test team If that happens he will be the 31st Test cricketer from our company Reddy proudly concludedKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news