The Delhi Capitals finally decided to include T Natarajan in the playing XI as the wily left-arm seamer gets into the XI in a crucial Indian Premier League match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. DC have crumbled in recent matches and their bowling has come under scrutiny.
Who has T Natarajan replaced in the playing XI? T Natarajan, the DC pacer has replaced the out of form Mukesh Kumar in the playing XI. Mukesh had an underwhelming IPL 2025 season so far and captain Axar Patel took a harsh call by not playing him in the XI. However, all is not lost for the Bengal pacer as he is in the Impact Subs and with DC bowling second, he could be included to strengthen the bowling.
The former SRH pacer was roped in by DC for INR 10.75 crore, but due to injury reasons, the pacer wasn't picked in any of the matches as he makes his DC debut tonight. Why was T Natarajan selected? The left-arm pacer was a part of the SRH squad and knows the team inside out. The SRH team boasts a plethora of hard-hitters and having spent time with them, Natarajan perhaps knows a trick or two to dismiss the likes of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Plus, DC's death overs bowling has come under scrutiny this season and Natarajan is a brilliant slog overs specialist who can take wickets with ease towards the fag end of the match.
DC's playing XI Vs SRH: Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan.
On May 5, 2025, the Delhi Capitals included T Natarajan in the playing XI for a crucial Indian Premier League match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. T Natarajan replaced Mukesh Kumar in the playing XI. Mukesh Kumar had an underwhelming IPL 2025 season. T Natarajan was roped in by DC for INR 10.75 crore, but due to injury reasons, he wasn't picked in any of the matches until his DC debut on May 5, 2025.
T Natarajan was part of the SRH squad and knows the team inside out. DC's death overs bowling has come under scrutiny this season, and Natarajan is a brilliant slog overs specialist.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their do-or-die Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday. Both teams have made couples of changes in their playing XIs. T Natarajan came into the XI for the Capitals in place of Mukesh Kumar.
SRH opted to move Mohammed Shami to the impact subs list while also dropping Kamindu Mendis and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Abhinav Manohar and Sachin Baby move into the playing XI. Seasoned pacer T Natarajan, after five seasons with SRH, is playing against Hyderabad for his DC debut. Pat Cummins' Sunrisers are placed ninth in the table and one more loss will officially knock them out of the competition, making them join the eliminated list after Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Sunrisers are coming into the match after succumbing to a 38-run defeat against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium whereas Delhi Capitals faced a defeat by 14 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Speaking at the time of toss, Pat Cummins said, "We'll bowl. We've talked about a few things, haven't had a complete game yet. Want to do the basics well. It's about giving yourself the chance, everyone's a match-winner. We bat very deep. The support has been amazing, probably haven't had the results we wanted but the crowd has been amazing. Buzzing around in the field, that's one thing we can judge ourselves on."
Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel said, "Would've fielded first as well, looks like a good wicket and it shouldn't change much. Will look to get a good score and restrict them. The last phase is here and these are must-win games. We've tried to keep the environment light, we weren't thinking about these things at the start of the tournament and we played well, wanted to go into these games with the same mindset and not let the situation pressure us. We've had different players contribute, we haven't been dependent on one player. We want to have close games, even if we lose, we don't want to lose by big margins. No changes."
SRH vs DC Playing XIs: Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sachin Baby, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins (C), Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari, Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat. Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel (WK), KL Rahul, Axar Patel (C), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan.
On May 5, 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. T Natarajan came into the XI for the Capitals in place of Mukesh Kumar. SRH opted to move Mohammed Shami to the impact subs list while also dropping Kamindu Mendis and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Abhinav Manohar and Sachin Baby move into the playing XI. T Natarajan is playing against Hyderabad for his DC debut after five seasons with SRH.
Pat Cummins' Sunrisers are placed ninth in the table. Sunrisers are coming into the match after succumbing to a 38-run defeat against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium, while Delhi Capitals faced a defeat by 14 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The Delhi Capitals selected T Natarajan to start in their playing lineup during a vital Indian Premier League contest against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Delhi Capitals recently demonstrated poor form in their matches, which created questions about their bowling performance. Natarajan first played for SRH in IPL 2020 and settled quickly into the team, staying with them till IPL 2024, which was also his most profitable season, where he returned 19 wickets in 14 matches.
He was acquired by Delhi Capitals for a whopping amount of 10.75 crores in IPL 2025. Nattu, here in Hyderabad — here in 💙❤️! T Natarajan makes his much-anticipated debut for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025. The left-arm pacer, who was bought for Rs 10.75 crore, is back after a lengthy injury layoff.
Interestingly, Natarajan made his debut for Delhi Capitals against his former franchise, SRH. He played 56 matches and took 65 wickets for the Sunrisers during his stint between 2020 and 2024. Natarajan was bought for Rs 10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, with the Delhi Capitals outbidding several rivals to secure the services of the Tamil Nadu speedster.
However, he spent the first 10 matches of the season on the bench. While the Capitals were reluctant to alter their winning combination in the early games - having started with Mukesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Mitchell Starc - Natarajan was also in the process of recovering and regaining peak fitness after a lengthy injury lay-off. SRH vs DC Coverage | Head coach Hemang Badani had said before the start of the season that Natarajan was recovering nicely from injury setbacks and he would be available at some point to feature for the Capitals.
Natarajan was out of competitive action in the 2024-25 domestic season after suffering a shoulder injury. He last played competitive cricket in the Tamil Nadu Premier League on August 2, 2024. Notably, Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket Kevin Pietersen was asked about Natarajan's absence from the XI at a press conference last month. The former England captain did not delve into the details, but stressed that the team combination will dictate players' places in their side.
Delhi Capitals also left finisher Ashutosh Sharma on the bench as one of the Impact Subs for their crunch clash against SunRisers. DELHI CAPITALS TEAM NEWS FOR HYDERABAD CLASH: Delhi Capitals (Playing XI) - Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel (WK), KL Rahul, Axar Patel (C), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan (In for Mukesh Kumar). Impact player options for DC - Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Kumar. Delhi Capitals, who won four on the trot to start the season, have slipped in the playoffs race. With just two wins in their last six games, Delhi are at the fifth spot and they have very little room for error in their last four matches.
