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Being left-armer works as an advantage for me: Natarajan

Salem (Tamil Nadu) - Natarajan was chosen as a net bowler for the Australia series, but the left-armer went on to represent the country in all three formats of the game

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Pacer T Natarajan on Sunday said that being a left-arm pacer works as an advantage for him as currently there are not many bowlers with that angle playing for the senior side.

“The main reason for me playing all the formats has to go towards my practice and all my coaches, they would have known about my strength in the formats so they gave me a chance to play in all formats. I am a left-armer so that works as an advantage for me,” said Natarajan while addressing a press conference on Sunday.

Natarajan was chosen as a net bowler for the Australia series, but the left-armer went on to represent the country in all three formats of the game. In his debut Test at Gabba, he went on to take three wickets, including the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade in the first innings.

“The main reason for me playing all the formats has to go towards my practice and all my coaches, they would have known about my strength in the formats so they gave me a chance to play in all formats. I am a left-armer so that works as an advantage for me,” said Natarajan while addressing a press conference on Sunday.

“I always believe in my strength. I will try to support the Salem cricket association as much as I can. It is because of people’s support that I am here. People know how I came here, if one does hard word he can achieve anything. I could not meet you all when I returned, I thank the media and all who supported me,” he added.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has always been a keen supporter of left-arm bowlers, and he has voiced his opinion about how useful the different angle can be across various formats.

During his debut Test at Brisbane, Natarajan was seen a bit intimidated by Mitchell Starc’s pace. Talking about his batting, Natarajan said: “After a long time I batted and as I said in BCCI interview I could not even see the first ball which I faced. I faced such a fastball and it was such a good experience.”

Natarajan also revealed how spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was by his side throughout and how he advised him to play better during the Australian tour.

“We have already played jointly in many games for Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Premier League, etc. He is very friendly and always calls me Nattu,” said Natarajan.

After winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, most of the Indian stars landed in the country on Thursday. Natarajan received a hero’s welcome at his native village in Salem.

Upon reaching his native village Salem, Natarajan was welcomed with ‘dhols’ and shehnais. The Indian pacer was surrounded by a huge crowd and he then stepped onto a chariot. People did not stop there and he was escorted by a huge crowd and the Indian pacer basked in the much-deserved glory.

On Tuesday, India had won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1. For the first time in 32 years, Australia was defeated at the Gabba, Brisbane.

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