‘SRH medical staff will take the right decision’: VVS Laxman reveals why T Natarajan didn’t play against Mumbai Indians

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman on Saturday revealed the reason why left-arm pacer T Natarajan was benched for the MI clash in Chennai. David Warner-led Sunrisers made four changes to playing XI and fielded Khaleel Ahmed in place of Natarajan. However, the changes didn’t make any big difference to the end result as SRH lost the match by 13 runs. It was their third defeat on the trot this season.

After the conclusion of the game, Laxman said that Natarajan had a niggle in his left knee which kept him from featuring. While addressing a post-match virtual press conference, the SRH mentor stated that the medical team will soon assess and decide on the extent of the pacer’s injury. (IPL 2021 Full Coverage)

“Yeah, unfortunately, Natarajan missed out because of a sore knee and a niggle in his left knee, he was ruled out of this match. So, he was unfit for this match and that’s why we went with Khaleel Ahmed. We are going to assess the condition of Natarajan and I’m sure that the medical staff of Sunrisers will take the right decision which will be beneficial for him and the franchise,” VVS Laxman was quoted by ANI as saying.

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Laxman further spoke about the performance of Khaleel and lauded his good show in his first IPL 2021 game. The left-arm quick from Hyderabad scalped 1 wicket and conceded 24 runs in his 4-over spell.

“I was very impressed with the way Khaleel Ahmed bowled in his first game of the season. I think he assessed the conditions really well and used a lot of his variation along with extracting a lot of pace and bounce off the surface. So, a lot of positives for SRH in the Khaleel Ahmed bowled,” VVS Laxman said.

Earlier, SRH team director Tom Moody had stated that Natarajan was rested and not dropped. While speaking to Star Sports commentators, he said, “[Natarajan] Not dropped, rested - managing his workload, we know it's a long tournament and he's had quite a lot of cricket already under his belt.”

SRH will next play against Punjab Kings here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.

(With ANI Inputs)