"A proud moment to wear the white jersey" - T Natarajan

Left-arm pacer T Natarajan is excited to be a part of Team India's Test squad for the last two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He is looking forward to the new set of challenges that will come his way in Test cricket.

The 29-year-old took to Twitter to express his excitement and posted a photo of himself wearing Team India's Test jersey.

A proud moment to wear the white jersey 🇮🇳 Ready for the next set of challenges 👍🏽#TeamIndia @BCCI pic.twitter.com/TInWJ9rYpU

— Natarajan (@Natarajan_91) January 5, 2021

T Natarajan's meteoric rise to the top

T Natarajan has had a great impact for Team India in the limited number of chances he has got so far.

T Natarajan's journey in international cricket so far has been nothing short of a fairytale. The left-arm pacer made his name in the Tamil Nadu Premier League before bagging an IPL contract in 2017 with the Kings XI Punjab.

He couldn't create an impact at the IPL franchise, but the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) realised his potential and gave T Natarajan an extended run in IPL 2020.

That proved to be the big break Natarajan needed. He picked up 16 wickets in as many games for SRH, doing so at a decent strike-rate of 23.56. Moreover, he made a reputation as someone who bowls his yorkers to perfection.

T Natarajan's performances were recognised by the Indian selectors, and he was taken to Australia initially as a net bowler. However, he was later added to India's limited-overs squads and made his international debut in Canberra in the third ODI.

Picking up two wickets in his first ODI, Natarajan showed a lot of promise and went on to play all three T20Is, where he played a key role in Team India winning the series 2-1.

T Natarajan picked up six wickets in the T20I series and was difficult to score runs off. His performances were so impactful that Man of the Series Hardik Pandya gave his award to the left-arm pacer.

However, there was more international cricket in store for T Natarajan. Fast bowler Umesh Yadav pulled his calf muscle during Australia's second innings in the Boxing Day Test and was ruled out of the remainder of the series. That made the selectors add T Natarajan to India's Test squad too.

JUST IN: T Natarajan has been named as a replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav in India’s squad for the remaining #AUSvIND Tests. pic.twitter.com/HDe1adZxjz

— ICC (@ICC) January 1, 2021

With the variety that he would bring to the bowling attack, as he is a left-arm pacer, it will be interesting to see whether the Indian team management hands the 29-year-old his Test debut in the remaining two Tests.