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Full name Lakshmipathy Balaji
Born September 27, 1981, Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu
Current age 26 years 233 days
Major teams India,Chennai Super Kings,Tamil Nadu
Also known as Naidu
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium-fast
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
4s
6s
Ct
St
Tests
8
9
0
51
31
5.66
126
40.47
0
0
5
1
1
0
ODIs
29
15
6
113
21*
12.55
142
79.57
0
0
7
3
11
0
First-class
52
57
12
543
37
12.06
0
0
15
0
List A
68
35
13
207
21*
9.40
284
72.88
0
0
17
0
Twenty20
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
8
15
1756
1004
27
5/76
9/171
37.18
3.43
65.0
2
1
0
ODIs
29
29
1417
1312
34
4/48
4/48
38.58
5.55
41.6
1
0
0
First-class
52
10148
5049
197
7/42
25.62
2.98
51.5
9
12
4
List A
68
3532
3056
103
5/36
5/36
29.66
5.19
34.2
2
2
0
Twenty20
3
3
60
68
7
5/24
5/24
9.71
6.80
8.5
0
1
0
Career statistics
Test debut
India v New Zealand at Ahmedabad, Oct 8-12, 2003 scorecard
Last Test
India v Pakistan at Bangalore, Mar 24-28, 2005 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut
India v West Indies at Vadodara, Nov 18, 2002 scorecard
Last ODI
Sri Lanka v India at Dambulla, Aug 3, 2005 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut
2001/02
Last First-class
South Zone v West Zone at Indore, Oct 19-22, 2006 scorecard
List A debut
2001/02
Last List A
Madhya Pradesh v Tamil Nadu at Visakhapatnam, Apr 1, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut
Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings at Delhi, May 8, 2008 scorecard
Last Twenty20
Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai, May 14, 2008 scorecard
Profile
Lakshmipathy Balaji erased memories of an eminently forgettable one-day
debut, where he was caned for 44 runs off 4 miserable overs, and of two
fruitless home Tests against New Zealand, when he emerged as one of
India's leading fast bowlers in their historic tour of Pakistan. He
scalped 12 wickets from three Tests, and was particularly lethal in a
couple of sessions in the third Test at Rawalpindi, where he consistently
swung the ball away from the right hander and snapped up a then career-best
4 for 63. In addition, his uninhibited batting and megawatt smile endeared
him to audiences in a manner even he found difficult to fathom.
Injury struck when India were playing one-dayers in England in the summer of 2004 and Balaji was out of the game for almost a year. But he stormed back into the Indian team in the home Tests against Pakistan in early 2005, taking nine wickets and scoring useful runs on comeback.
He bowls with a whippy, quick-arm action and has the ability to bowl quicker deliveries, yorkers or bouncers without a perceptible change in action. His run of five-wicket hauls in several consecutive Ranji Trophy matches in the 2002-03 season, pitchforked him into national contention. Initially he found it difficult to translate domestic form to success at the highest level. However, once he rediscovered a good wrist position he began to trouble batsmen. His open-chested action, combined with a tendency to bowl wide from the crease, lulls batsmen into believing that the ball comes in with the arm. As a result of this, when the ball swings away, or even straightens, he can be difficult to tackle.
Balaji's ride at the international level was cut short in 2005 owing to a stress fracture. He has not played a game for India since August of that year and his domestic appearances have been limited too. Balaji was set to return to first-class cricket in the 2007-08 season but Tamil Nadu decided not to rush him back. He has since spent time remodelling his action and also went to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to have his fitness monitored. In 2008 it was announced that Balaji had signed on with the Indian Premier League's Chennai franchise, the Super Kings. His comeback was emphatic at best - in his second game, he took the first hat-trick of the IPL, against Kings XI Punjab, and rounded off the evening with a match-winning five-wicket haul.
Anand Vasu (March 2008)
