Virender Sehwag has revealed that many had doubted his choice when he scouted T Natrajan for Kings XI Punjab ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 edition. But he is now delighted that the Tamil Nadu cricketer has made its debut for the Indian team in ODIs.
During an interaction on the Sony Sports network, Virender Sehwag was inquired how excited he is to see a left-arm seamer in the form of T Natarajan playing for the Indian team after a long time. The former cricketer without hesitating said that he was delighted that Natrajan has got the opportunity.
He recalled that the doubts were raised when he picked up a rockier to play the most popular league. T Natarajan was picked in the Kings XI Punjab squad in 2017 based on his excellent performances in the TNPL.
“I was very happy because when I had picked Natarajan in the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab, everyone was asking questions that this player has come who has not even played domestic cricket and came after playing just the TNPL league, so how he was picked at such a huge price.”
Virender Sehwag further added that he picked T Natarajan after watching some of his videos while lamenting that the latter could not play the entire season because of injury issues.
A massive day for @Natarajan_91 today as he makes his #TeamIndia debut. He becomes the proud owner of ? 232. Go out and give your best, champ! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/YtXD3Nn9pz
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 2, 2020
All the best to T Natarajan: Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag said that although he was expecting to see T Natrajan in the T20I series, he was excited that the 29-year-old was given a chance in the 50-over format.
“So I was very excited to see that he was getting an opportunity although I was thinking that he would be given a chance in the T20Is but it was a surprise for me that he was played in the ODIs.”
Sehwag signed off by expressing hope that T Natarajan continues to perform well and secures a permanent spot in the Indian team.
“But whatever happened was good. All the best to T Natarajan. I hope that he keeps on doing well from here and makes his place in the Indian team,” Virender Sehwag said.
In the last ODI, T Natrajan gave the breakthrough in the powerplay in which India had gone wicketless in the first two ODIs. He notched the priced wicket of Marnus Labuschagne and also Ashton Agar.