Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) player T Natarajan tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, just hours before the team’s match against the Delhi Capitals. The left-arm seamer is currently asymptomatic.

“Sunrisers Hyderabad player T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 at a scheduled RT-PCR test. The player has isolated himself from the rest of the squad. He is currently asymptomatic. The medical team has identified the below mentioned six close contacts of the player, who have also been placed in isolation,” BCCI said in a press release on Wednesday. 

The game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will go ahead as per schedule at the Dubai International Stadium.

Who is T Natarajan?

Born in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on 27 May, 1991, Thangarasu Natarajan is a left arm fast-medium bowler. He represented the team of BSNL in Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s fourth division league before playing 1st division cricket for Vijay Cricket Club for almost a year. He went on to make his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy in 2015. 

Kings XI Punjab picked him up for 3 crores for IPL 2017. He played in 6 games in his debut IPL season, picking up 2 wickets. The following year, Natarajan was traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was retained by SRH in 2020. 

In January 2021, Natarajan became the first Indian cricketer to make his international debut across all three formats on the same tour when he was playing in India’s 2020–21 tour of Australia. One of his best performances came in the historic Gabba Test. He recorded figures of 3/119 in a winning cause for India. The 30-year-old’s victims included Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Josh Hazlewood.

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In April, Natarajan played the first two games of IPL 2021 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, but was then ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to an injury.