The fast bowler made his T20 and One Day International debut in Australia.
Tamil Nadu’s fast bowler and Yorker specialist Thangarasu Natarajan has been inducted into the Team India squad for the third Test against Australia which will begin on January 7. He was added to the Test squad after Umesh Yadav was ruled out for the next two Test matches in the series.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the announcement on Friday through a statement in which it stated that Umesh Yadav had sustained a strain in his left calf muscle during the second test match against Australia. “The fast bowler will not recover completely ahead of the remaining two Test matches and has been ruled out of the series. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named T Natarajan as Yadav’s replacement,” the statement said. It added that Mohammed Shami has also been ruled out for the rest of the series due to a hairline fracture in his right forearm and Shardul Thakur has been announced as the replacement for Shami. Shami and Yadav will be returning to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for the rehabilitation of their injuries.
Indian batsman Rohit Sharma will join the Test team as its vice-captain. The Indian opener was not part of the team in its first two matches.
Natarajan made his T20 international debut in the current tour of India in Australia and played all three matches. He also made his One Day International (ODI) debut in the same tour, as a replacement for Varun Chakravarthy who is also from Tamil Nadu. The fast bowler could make his Test debut too, depending on the playing XI chosen by skipper Rahane for the third test.
India grabbed victory in the second Test at Melbourne after suffering a humiliating defeat in the first test match in Adelaide.
Team India Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan
Also read: How T Natarajan overcame poverty and a suspect bowling action to rise to fame
Source: The News Minute