The Sunrisers Hyderabad won their first match of IPL 2021 on Wednesday afternoon. However, on Thursday evening, the reports emerged that their star bowler T Natarajan would not participate any longer in IPL 2021. Natarajan had his best few months in recent times. He had a fantastic IPL campaign with SRH in the UAE. Then, he traveled with Team India to Australia.
Natarajan was initially a net bowler. However, because of the injuries in the Indian team, the left-arm pacer could make his debut in all three formats. Natarajan even played in the home series against England. However, according to Cricbuzz, he will no longer IPL 2021 because of a knee injury. Here are the five players SRH could sign as the replacement of T Natarajan.
5. Yarra Prithviraj can replace T Natarajan
Last year, Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered an injury in IPL. The Sunrisers Hyderabad had to hunt for a last-minute replacement. SRH zeroed in on Yarra Prithviraj. He is a pace bowler from Andhra Pradesh. Yarra was born in the Guntur district.
He is a left-arm fast bowler, just like T Natarajan. Since the Hyderabad-based franchise showed interest in him last year, they could potentially go for him again in 2021. Prithvi went unsold in IPL Auction 2021. No other team has signed him as a replacement. Hence, he could come back to the Hyderabad squad as Natarajan’s replacement.
4. Parvez Rasool
Another former Sunrisers Hyderabad player to feature on this list is Parvez Rasool. The spin-bowling all-rounder has played international cricket for Team India. Rasool has been a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors. He plays domestic cricket for Jammu and Kashmir. Rasool is a off-spin bowler.
The reason why SRH could sign him is because they already have good pace-bowling options. In fact, they won their first match in IPL 2021 without T Natarajan. So, they can strengthen their lower middle-order a bit by signing Rasool. The all-rounder has an experience of playing 61 T20 matches. He has 726 runs and 50 wickets to his name.
3. Stuart Binny
Although he is much experienced, Stuart Binny did not get a bid in IPL 2021 Auction. The domestic star remained unsold. Binny has played for multiple franchises in the past. He played his first season for the Mumbai Indians. Then, he turned up for the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Binny has played 150 T20 matches in his career. He has the experience of playing cricket across various venues in India. Binny could be useful for SRH during their matches in Bengaluru. He can open the bowling if needed. Also, he can smack a few big shots with the bat in the slog overs.
2. Former IPL Purple Cap winner Mohit Sharma can replace T Natarajan
Mohit Sharma is another big name who did not get a bid in IPL 2021 Auction. Mohit was a part of the Delhi Capitals before. Sharma can play a double back-up role for SRH. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not 100% fit in the previous match. So, Sharma can be a back-up for him.
Otherwise, Sunrisers can also use him as their secondary pace bowler. Mohit is a wicket-taker. He has won the Purple Cap in the IPL before. Also, he has played much domestic T20 cricket. Mohit has 113 wickets to his name in 118 T20s.
1. Varun Aaron
The Sunrisers Hyderabad will play a majority of their remaining matches in Delhi and Bengaluru. Varun Aaron was once a part of Delhi and Bangalore in IPL. He would have a great idea about the conditions. Also, he has got the pace to trouble the batsmen. Varun could be a good choice to replace T Natarajan.
He will bring experience to the table. Aaron was a part of the Rajasthan Royals in the most recent seasons. He had won the Man of the Match award in an IPL 2019 match at Eden Gardens, another venue where SRH will play their IPL 2021 games. So, looking at his experience, Aaron seems to be the best pick. It will be interesting to see which player joins SRH as Natarajan’s replacement.
