![CSK vs DC, IPL 2026: How DC’s ‘yorker king’ Natarajan took the long road back to success 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.ALSO READ: CSK vs DC, IPL 2026: ‘Criticism is fair when you’re not doing well,’ says Chennai Super Kings coach FlemingFitness 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 #CSK #IPL #DCs #yorker #king #Natarajan #long #road #success](https://i3.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/bqhszk/article70848493.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/DSC_7539.JPG?ssl=1 "CSK vs DC, IPL 2026: How DC’s ‘yorker king’ Natarajan took the long road back to success 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.ALSO READ: CSK vs DC, IPL 2026: ‘Criticism is fair when you’re not doing well,’ says Chennai Super Kings coach FlemingFitness 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 #CSK #IPL #DCs #yorker #king #Natarajan #long #road #success")
CSK vs DC, IPL 2026: How DC’s ‘yorker king’ Natarajan took the long road back to success 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.
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
#CSK #IPL #DCs #yorker #king #Natarajan #long #road #success
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.
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
![Representing India in Test cricket changed Washington Sundar’s white-ball trajectory: Sanjay Manjrekar Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested that representing India in Test cricket may have led to confusion over how to best utilise Washington Sundar’s abilities in the shorter formats of the game.Washington – who has represented Rising Pune Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Gujarat Titans (his current franchise) – has 680 runs at an average of 17.43 and 40 wickets at 37.17 in his 75 IPL appearances. More notably, he has only bowled his complete allocation of four overs in 27 of those 75 appearances, and teams have often struggled to fully utilise his skillset.The 26-year-old first broke through in the IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, primarily bowling in the PowerPlay, and former India international Sanjay Manjrekar noted that teams have tended not to use him in the same way since.“He burst on the scene for the first time, just like Ravichandran Ashwin as a T20 bowler, and bowled with the new ball in the first six overs, which I thought was remarkable. People saw this very interesting tall off spinner who kept it simple. And then played for a couple of other franchises, but he was more a bowler who could contribute with the bat,” Manjrekar remembered on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58JRdBRAbIk[/embed]Manjrekar pinpointed his appearances for the Indian Test side as a pivotal point in his trajectory, saying, “I think his whole trajectory of his career changed when he played for India as a Test player, and everyone saw the batting side of Washington Sundar in tough conditions in Australia. He would bat down the order and get you 60, 70 runs.”And then we had a very excited Indian coach called Gautam Gambhir, who wanted him to be everywhere. So I look at Washington Sundar, and at the moment in white ball cricket, I don’t see him. He’s not really there as a pure bowler, nor does he have the pedigree or the performances to play as a pure batter.”ALSO READ: T20 cricket may not be Shubman Gill’s natural format: Sanjay ManjrekarManjrekar suggested that entrusting Washington with a more regular bowling workload could be key to unlocking his talents.“His exceptional showing at the Test level has got people excited with what he can offer with bat and ball. He’s got seven wickets in a Test match, he can play as a pure spinner, plus bat down the order and bat like a proper batter, which got Gautam Gambhir sometimes to promote him to number three.” he said.“But I think that’s just getting a little too carried away. He has to be a bowling all-rounder in T20 cricket. I would like to extract that and make him that guy who will bowl the four overs, but four overs of off-spin, it’s a tough one to get away.”Published on May 02, 2026 #Representing #India #Test #cricket #changed #Washington #Sundars #whiteball #trajectory #Sanjay #Manjrekar](https://i0.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/th1laj/article70932802.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/INDEX_IPL_PBKS_GT_20.jpg?ssl=1 "Representing India in Test cricket changed Washington Sundar’s white-ball trajectory: Sanjay Manjrekar Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested that representing India in Test cricket may have led to confusion over how to best utilise Washington Sundar’s abilities in the shorter formats of the game.Washington – who has represented Rising Pune Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Gujarat Titans (his current franchise) – has 680 runs at an average of 17.43 and 40 wickets at 37.17 in his 75 IPL appearances. More notably, he has only bowled his complete allocation of four overs in 27 of those 75 appearances, and teams have often struggled to fully utilise his skillset.The 26-year-old first broke through in the IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, primarily bowling in the PowerPlay, and former India international Sanjay Manjrekar noted that teams have tended not to use him in the same way since.“He burst on the scene for the first time, just like Ravichandran Ashwin as a T20 bowler, and bowled with the new ball in the first six overs, which I thought was remarkable. People saw this very interesting tall off spinner who kept it simple. And then played for a couple of other franchises, but he was more a bowler who could contribute with the bat,” Manjrekar remembered on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58JRdBRAbIk[/embed]Manjrekar pinpointed his appearances for the Indian Test side as a pivotal point in his trajectory, saying, “I think his whole trajectory of his career changed when he played for India as a Test player, and everyone saw the batting side of Washington Sundar in tough conditions in Australia. He would bat down the order and get you 60, 70 runs.”And then we had a very excited Indian coach called Gautam Gambhir, who wanted him to be everywhere. So I look at Washington Sundar, and at the moment in white ball cricket, I don’t see him. He’s not really there as a pure bowler, nor does he have the pedigree or the performances to play as a pure batter.”ALSO READ: T20 cricket may not be Shubman Gill’s natural format: Sanjay ManjrekarManjrekar suggested that entrusting Washington with a more regular bowling workload could be key to unlocking his talents.“His exceptional showing at the Test level has got people excited with what he can offer with bat and ball. He’s got seven wickets in a Test match, he can play as a pure spinner, plus bat down the order and bat like a proper batter, which got Gautam Gambhir sometimes to promote him to number three.” he said.“But I think that’s just getting a little too carried away. He has to be a bowling all-rounder in T20 cricket. I would like to extract that and make him that guy who will bowl the four overs, but four overs of off-spin, it’s a tough one to get away.”Published on May 02, 2026 #Representing #India #Test #cricket #changed #Washington #Sundars #whiteball #trajectory #Sanjay #Manjrekar")
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