Chennai, April 10 Delhi Capitals (DC) left-arm fast bowler T. Natarajan stated that a rigorous six-month training regime has helped him regain bowling rhythm and ability to bowl high-velocity yorkers, adding that his confidence is at a high and he is pleased with how things have been going now. in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Natarajan, who has been plagued by injuries in the last few years, has picked four wickets in three games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at an economy rate of 7.9. "Last year, I had a collarbone injury, and it was a difficult phase for me. The team management, support staff, and coaches kept motivating me throughout and guided me on the kind of training I needed to do.
“I attended multiple camps in Delhi, Surat, Hyderabad, and Dubai, and all of that helped me gain rhythm and confidence again. Coming back after injury is never easy, both mentally and physically. Every time I was doing well, unfortunately, an injury came in the way.
“For the last six to seven months, I have worked extremely hard on my fitness and bowling. I have practised a lot to get back to my yorkers and regain my rhythm. My confidence is high now, and I’m very happy with how things are going," said Natarajan in the pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of DC taking on Chennai Super Kings on Saturday afternoon.
Reflecting on the evolution of T20 bowling, Natarajan was quick to point out the importance of tactical clarity ahead of execution. "Cricket has changed a lot, and batters are much smarter now. They prepare very well and plan against bowlers. “So for me, clarity of plans is the most important thing. I need to know what I want to execute in every situation. Even if I get hit, if my plans are clear, I back myself to deliver,” he added.
Known for his expertise with yorkers, Natarajan revealed he used a mix of tennis and red-ball training to refine his lengths, following advice from veteran India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
"I have played tennis-ball cricket since childhood, and that has helped me a lot. To improve my execution, I practised with tennis balls, weighted balls, and red balls. I also discussed with Bhuvneshwar Kumar earlier, and he suggested practising with the red ball slowly to improve length control. That has helped me a lot in improving my bowling."
Despite a narrow one-run defeat to the Gujarat Titans in their previous outing, Natarajan backed the DC bowling unit to bounce back. "Of course, the team feels emotional after a close loss, but this is a long tournament, and we are only a few matches in.
“Our bowling attack has been performing really well. We have world-class spinners and quality pacers in the group. Mukesh Kumar, our spinners - everyone is contributing," he concluded.
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