“He is broken down”: R Ashwin’s blunt take on Indian pacer’s absence from Duleep Trophy

Veteran Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin gave his opinion on pacer T Natarajan’s absence from the recently announced Duleep Trophy squads. The left-arm pacer was one of the better performing Indian pacers in the IPL this year, however his fitness issues in the last couple of years have put him down in the pecking order. 

Natarajan made his India debut in 2020 during the Australia tour and was straightaway touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. However, constant injuries hampered the progress of his career as he last played for India in March 2021 against England.

Even though Natarajan took 19 wickets in the IPL 2024 season, still he didn’t make the cut for India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 which left many fans baffled.

Ashwin, who played alongside Natarajan in Tamil Nadu’s domestic side, gave his opinion on the pacer’s exclusion from the Duleep Trophy squads.

“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,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. 

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