There was a sense of familiarity when T. Natarajan walked into the press conference room at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai ahead of the IPL 2026 encounter between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). 

The DC pacer had a wide smile on his face when he walked into a room full of journalists who had been witnesses to his rise from the grounds of Chinnapampatti in Salem to the Gabba in Brisbane. The smile turned into a chuckle when one of them prompted, “Tamil or Hindi?”

The 35-year-old seemed to be in high spirits after a tough year and a half, during which he grappled with injury, playing just a solitary T20 game, which came in the IPL for the Capitals. “Last year, my collarbone was broken. Not many people know it. I was not 100% fit,” Natarajan said.

“I think a lot about injury. It’s always there in the back of my mind. Even when there is soreness, the injury comes back to mind. The last year has been a struggle. I’ve had to motivate myself to come back from all these,” he added. 

The left-arm pacer was painfully frank about the mental toll these injuries had on him, but said the challenge of coming back from injury was in no way comparable to the stress he endured in his first year as a First-Class cricketer. 

Natarajan made his Tamil Nadu debut in a Ranji Trophy encounter against Bengal in Kolkata, after which he was called out for a suspect action by match officials. He remained out of contention for more than a year before a splendid showing in the maiden season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League brought him back into the TN setup and gave him his first IPL contract with the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). 

“I’ve had some three to four surgeries so far. Physically and mentally, I’ve overcome a lot of challenges. The biggest challenge for me was coming back from being called for suspect action. Injuries are a part of the game, and it’s not in my hands, but this is different. I was mentally weak at the time, and coming back from that gave me the confidence that I can overcome any challenge, including injuries,” the pacer said. 

Natarajan credited the Capitals management for backing him doubtlessly during the previous IPL season. The franchise even took him to the UAE during the ILT20, where he trained along with the sister team, the Dubai Capitals. 

“The support staff and team management in DC have been in constant touch with me, monitoring my progress. [Hemang] Badani sir (DC head coach), often chats with me and we even met during the TNPL. I attended a lot of camps in Delhi, Surat and Hyderabad and also spent three weeks in Dubai. I even played in the DY Patil tournament in Mumbai as preparation, which helped me get back in rhythm,” he explained.

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Fitness is not the only aspect Natarajan worked on during his long layoff. The left-armer, who earned the moniker of ‘yorker king’ during his initial spell in the T20 showpiece event, has had to relearn the craft after constant interruptions. He says he has now upskilled himself by bowling yorkers by holding the seam. Earlier, he could only bowl cross-seam ones, he admits. 

“Bowling with the seam has been very difficult. But I had that question in mind: ‘Why can’t I do it?’  Ellaralayum panna mudiyum na [if everyone can do it], I can do it too. I have been able to naturally get some dip on it,” the DC quick said. 

The Tamil Nadu bowler explained that he continues to practice with the tennis ball at the T. Natarajan Cricket Academy, which he built in his hometown to perfect the yorker. 

“I started playing cricket with a tennis ball at the age of 20. Bowling with it helps me improve my confidence. I practised with a weightless ball, the red-coloured tennis ball and then even with the red ball. When I was at Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bhuvi bhai [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] said he practices with the red ball a lot during the off-season. I’ve been doing the same,” he quipped. 

After multiple false starts, the season has begun positively for Natarajan. He has picked up four wickets in three matches this season at an impressive economy rate of 7.90. He will hope he can take a further step forward when he steps into the hallowed turf at Chepauk, where he has spent countless hours in his inspirational journey to the top. 

Published on Apr 10, 2026