When a journalist questioned why seamer T Natarajan was not in the Delhi Capitals' (DC) starting lineup, mentor Kevin Pietersen gave him a stern reply. In the mega auction, the left-arm seamer brought a staggering Rs 10.75 crore. He has not played a single game for Delhi this season, though, since Dushmantha Chameera, Mohit Sharma, and Mukesh Kumar have been picked over him.

Pietersen was recently questioned about why Delhi has not picked Natarajan to participate in a single match after spending so much money on him. The DC mentor gave a scathing reaction to the query, stating that they could only use 12 players, one of whom would be an impact substitution. He added that he would add him to the team if they were permitted to play with 13–14 players and asked the journalist for advice on where he fits into the starting lineup.

“We can only play 12 players, one being an impact player. And if you can tell me where he fits in at the moment, you would help us. If you can help us play 13-14, it would help us. One thing I can say about Natarajan is that he's doing everything that he's been asked to do, as are all of our players. What's been so impressive about our set up is how good the guys are that are not playing, and they know that their chance is coming. They know that their chance is just around the corner,” said Pietersen in the post-match press conference after the clash against RCB.

Additionally, Pietersen used Donovan Ferreira as an example, stating that he was prepared for his opportunity against the Gujarat Titans and that every player is prepared to play whenever the time comes.

“You have a look at Donovan the other night, he turned up and faced a couple of balls against GT. I mean that was spur of the moment, but he was ready. It didn't work out, but he was ready and all of our players are ready. Anything can happen again. Look at I think Phil Salt went down with a viral. We've had a few players that have gone down the night before a game because of a viral or some sort of illness. So all our players are ready and Natu is again, he's chomping at the bit to get there,” he added.

The former English cricket player also praised DC's depth and said that money spent has no bearing on the starting lineup.

“I don't want to talk about money. This competition's long gone money. In the Premier League, people don't talk about how much money the football is on, so that conversation for me is dead. It's more about the impact of a player and a team and when the player is ready to be selected and if you can make space for him. We're lucky we're in a good position where we've got Jake who's off the field. Faf came back today. Natu's off the field. Like we've got some very good strength really good depth in our squad,” Pietersen concluded.

Meanwhile, Delhi lost their third game this season as RCB easily defeated them by six wickets, chasing down the target of 163 in 18.3 overs. With six victories from nine games and 12 points, the team captained by Axar Patel is now in fourth place. On April 29, they will play the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, their home field.

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