T Natarajan has been the find of the limited-overs series between Australia and India Down Under. He has drawn instant comparison with Jasprit Bumrah in respect to their international starts. The similarities are so peculiar that it looks like a history repeated over a few international matches. Cricwizz takes a look.
Similarity No 1
The two bowlers made their ODI and T20I debut against Australia Down Under. Bumrah made his ODI debut in January 2016. Natarajan played his first ODI on December 2, 2020. They made their T20I debut on the same tour.
Similarity No 2
Bumrah was not part of the original ODI squad, but the T20I squad. Same with Natarajan. While Bumrah replaced injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the fifth ODI, Natarajan, who replaced injured Varun Chakravarthy in the ODI squad, came in place of rested Bumrah for the third ODI. Both the matches were of academic interest as India had lost the series.
Similarity No 3
The only ODI that the two pacers played in the ODI series Down Under was won by India. And that was the only ODI India won in both the tours.
Similarity No 4
Both the pacers took 2 wickets each in their respective ODI debut. Bumrah took 2/40, while Natarajan took 2/70.
Similarity No 5
Bumrah and Natarajan took 3 wickets each in their respective T20I debut. While Bumrah took 3/23, Natarajan took 3/30.
Similarity No 6
Again, the two pacers took 2 wickets each in their respective second T20I. While Bumrah took 2/37, Natarajan bagged 2/20.
Similarity No 7
Just like Bumrah, Natarajan also took 1 wicket in his third T20I. Natarajan took 1/33, while Bumrah bagged 1/43 in their third T20Is. In fact, Natarajan and Bumrah took exactly the same number of wickets (8) in their first four international matches (1 ODI, 3 T20Is).
Cover image: InsideSport
