IPL 2021: SRH pacer T Natarajan set to miss remainder of the tournament

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) left-arm pacer T Natarajan could be missing the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to an aggravated knee injury, reported Cricbuzz.

The 30-year-old, who played only the first two of SRH’s games in the IPL 2021 so far, may be advised by the medical staff not to take any further part in the competition. The 2016 champions would, therefore, have to seek a replacement for one of their first-choice quicks.

While an official confirmation from SRH is awaited, Cricbuzz report stated a revelation from BCCI and IPL sources “that the pacer could be asked to report back to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.” It isn’t yet known exactly when T Natarajan’s injury issue became serious but the Tamil Nadu cricketer didn’t feature in SRH’s last two games.

SRH pacer T Natarajan set to miss remainder of the tournament

Physios from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) have been monitoring Natarajan’s injury and have already reported the BCCI about the aggravation. BCCI is now expected to ask SRH to release the pacer from their squad in Chennai and have him undergo another round of rehabilitation at the NCA.

A source mentioned in the report, “We have not got the full report but we have been told that he has developed a strain in the knee. He will have to undergo rehab in the NCA.”

While SRH captain David Warner did say on Wednesday (April 21) that T Natarajan has a “sore knee”, his words didn’t suggest a major issue at the time.

“He has obviously got a sore knee,” Warner had said for T Natarajan. “Given the circumstance in these bubbles, if he goes and gets a scan, he obviously has to sit out for seven days. He has to get back in quarantine. We are just monitoring him at the moment. The physios are doing their best to analyse from a face point of view but he obviously has to go out and get a scan at some point.”

T Natarajan emerged as one of the heroes for SRH last season and went on to represent India across formats in the winter.

Ishant Sharma recovers from an undisclosed injury

The Cricbuzz report, meanwhile, also revealed that experienced Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Ishant Sharma had missed his team’s IPL 2021 campaign so far due to an injury and not his non-selection, as was widely believed. It is understood that Ishant “recently aggravated the problem on his heel”. But the pacer has recovered now and is available to play.

“We will have to see how he is bowling and how many overs he is able to bowl,” a source from the DC camp said in the report. Ishant’s heel issue is believed to be a longstanding one and has also kept recurring. Ishant was last seen in action during India’s Test series in England in February. He then complained of discomfort in his heel and was out for two weeks before entering DC’s bio-bubble.