As we near the start of another Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, one of India's stars from India's historic series win from the previous Australia tour has admitted that he has given up on red ball cricket. Pacer T Natarajan – who made his first and only Test appearance for India during the fourth Test of that series in 2020/21 – has revealed that he has had no choice but to stay away from red ball cricket due to severe workload issues at the age of 33. Natarajan revealed that he hasn’t played a first class match since his Test debut.
"It has been almost four years since I played red-ball cricket. It is not that I do not want to play red-ball cricket, but I feel that it makes my workload heavier," said Natarajan, speaking to The Times of India.
"Right now, I am avoiding red-ball cricket. When the workload is heavy, I am having issues on my knee. So, I have stopped playing," he added.
On his Test debut against Australia, he had picked up three wickets. Natarajan said that while he is only focusing on white ball cricket for the time being, his love for red ball cricket is far greater. Therefore, he still harbours hopes of a return to playing in whites.
"I love red-ball cricket more than white-ball cricket. If things go to plan, I will play after a few years. If I train well for the next two years, there are chances for me to return," he said.
In white ball cricket, Natarajan shone in IPL 2024, playing for eventual runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad. In one of the highest-scoring IPL tournaments ever, Natarajan picked up 19 wickets in 14 games at a respectable economy rate of 9.05.
Natarajan has also played two ODIs and 4 T20Is for India.