India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday (December 8) showered rich praise on T Natarajan, saying the left-arm pacer could be a great asset for the team heading into next year’s T20 World Cup.

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Kohli’s comments came after Natarajan finished with eight wickets in his four outings against Australia. While the youngster claimed six scalps to script India’s 2-1 T20I series victory, he took a couple of wickets on his ODI debut in the third game of the series.

“Special mention for Natarajan, in the absence of (Mohammad) Shami and Jasprit (Bumrah), he stood out and really delivered under pressure,” Kohli said at the post-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.

“It is outstanding because he is playing his first few games at the international level. He looks very composed, he is a humble and hard working guy, he is sure of what he is doing.”

The T20 World Cup is slated to be held in India in October and November next year.

“I hope he continues to keep working hard on his game and gets better because a left- arm bowler is an asset for any team and if he can keep bowling in this way consistently, it will be a great thing for us heading into the World Cup next year,” Kohli said.

India suffered a 12-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the third and final T20I, but clinched the series 2-1.

The captain was mighty pleased with the way his team never gave up despite missing experienced players such as Rohit Sharma, Bumrah and Shami.

“We played good cricket over the last 11-12 T20s, the fact that this squad had players that don’t have much exposure in international cricket, from that point of view it was a nice performance especially after losing the first two ODIs. We came back nicely and showed belief.”

“We carried the momentum, fighting back again in the first T20s and even tonight, the game was close, so the standout is that guys are not giving up.”

The focus now shifts to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting with the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.

Kohli said he is in a “good headspace” heading into the opening Test.

“Tonight I felt particularly good, I am in right headspace, it was scratchy to begin with in first ODI, I worked on few aspects of my game, purely trying to get into best headspace, not much about technique.

“I think when I get into a good headspace, I can switch to formats and adjust to conditions,” he said.

“I feel very balanced and good going into the Test series, it is about continuing to be in that headspace and making sure that I contribute enough to the team’s success and hopefully we will start on the right note in the Test series.”

(With PTI inputs)