India and Sunrisers Hyderabad left-arm pacer T Natarajan has undergone surgery on his knee for the injury that put him out of the ongoing IPL 2021.

Natarajan had injured his knee first during India's tour of Australia at the turn of the year, and subsequently missed games at home against England too. He played the first two games of IPL 2021 for the Sunrisers, but was then ruled out.

Natarajan made his international debut across all three formats in Australia, but the knee injury meant he had to undergo rehabilitation upon returning and missed the first three T20Is of a five-match series against England, playing in the last two matches before joining the Sunrisers for the start of the IPL. Sunrisers captain David Warner had initially said Natarajan would not leave the IPL bubble because of quarantine requirements. However, the bowler's exit from the tournament was confirmed last week.

Natarajan played the Sunrisers' first two games, against the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Once he was out, the Sunrisers replaced him with another left-arm pacer in Khaleel Ahmed.

Natarajan rose to prominence during IPL 2020 in the UAE, where his yorkers and death-bowling smarts stood out. His rise was particularly useful for the Sunrisers, who had lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar to injury.

The Sunrisers, who are yet to name a replacement for Natarajan, have so far won only a single game out of the five they have played, and are languishing at the bottom of the points table.