Ram Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 Rather than taking this as a sign that Balaji is being seriously considered for a place in the ODI team (In all honesty, he isn’t. As it has been pointed out before, even at his peak, he wasn’t a world-beating ODI bowler anyway), I think the selectors are just trying to make a symbolic gesture that Balaji is well and truly back in the reckoning in the national scheme of things. Lets be honest, there is no way he is going to play in this series, unless there’s an injury to another pacer. Praveen Kumar did well in the lone chance he got and Irfan is still waiting in the wings.
Mr. Wicket Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 FWIW, it may also be a reward for domestic performance. Balaji did have an excellent Ranji season and was among the top wicket takers in the league, including one outstanding spell on the final day v. Bengal in the QFs that turned the game around for Tamil Nadu (who otherwise would have been KOed then). But if it's a reward for domestic displays... why not Dhawal Kulkarni who looked more dangerous throughout with some more pace and was the joint highest wicket taker for the season?
msb1991 Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 But if it's a reward for domestic displays... why not Dhawal Kulkarni who looked more dangerous throughout with some more pace and was the joint highest wicket taker for the season? Dhawal is only in his first season and we have seen many debut season wonders like Pradeep Sangwan who subsequently fell away. Balaji has been a consistent domestic performer.
Mr. Wicket Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 No he hasn't. This is Balaji's first complete domestic season for a few years. When you have a gap of 2 years or so without competitive cricket to completely remodel yourself as a bowler, you can't look at performances from 5/6 years ago for reference.
satishg Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 No he hasn't. This is Balaji's first complete domestic season for a few years. When you have a gap of 2 years or so without competitive cricket to completely remodel yourself as a bowler, you can't look at performances from 5/6 years ago for reference. exactly my thoughts Salil..thats why i had mentioned earlier that this selection might raise few eyebrows..i thought Balaji shd have gone thro another domestic season before being considered..but guess his international experience prior to his injury worked in his favor..still i feel that Bala is being rushed into the scene although we know that he is not going to be in the playing 11..
Mr. Wicket Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 International experience, yes, but his ODI record isn't anything special. An average of 38, economy rate of 5.5+ and to pick him in Sri Lanka/at home doesn't strike me as bright, he averages over 50 per wicket (bleeding runs at 6+ an over) in the subcontinent.
msb1991 Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 No he hasn't. This is Balaji's first complete domestic season for a few years. When you have a gap of 2 years or so without competitive cricket to completely remodel yourself as a bowler, you can't look at performances from 5/6 years ago for reference. You certainly can, imo, when comparing yourself to a debut seamer.
Nash Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 shouldnt we try irfan as all rounder? Ishant , zaheer, irfan , yusuf , veru , raina , sachin we have enough bowling options.
flamy Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 Bala was never in that range..at the max he wud get to 140ks but his avg speed was 132ks..he cud get the ball to move both ways..thats wat made him special Isn't that what PK does anyways?
Mr. Wicket Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 Isn't that what PK does anyways? PK when I saw him in the Ranjis recently seemed to be a bit quicker than Balaji. Although Balaji looks a bit more dangerous with the old ball - PK's the sort who can easily rip through a lineup when the ball's < 15 overs old, but when it starts roughening up he struggles to do much with it - which is where UP really struggled both this season and last (heck it cost them the final last season) - not able to capitalize on top new ball spells from Praveen/B Kumar/Tyagi last season, as Gupta was average and Chawla was pathetic.
rahulrulezz Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Understand the art of bowling first before going ga-ga about some pace. We all know how your idol fares when it comes to bowling 5 overs in his one spell. Balaji was never a known for his pace but he was known for the movement he used to generate off the seam or in the air. o plz.....pace is pace and you cant compare it with ur boozinggg 120k swingerss...... Jeff Thompson, Lillie, Malcolm marshall, Bond, Flintoff, B.Lee, Akhtar, Steyn, Waqar are some of great names people will never forget for generations... reason "Pace"......thanks to current BCCI selectors that they dont have ur thinking approach...nahi to we would still have ur dangerouusssssss swinging trunders like Kuruvilla, Tinu Youhnan, VPrasad in our team.... even legends like Akram, McGrath, Hadlee used to bowl around 135ish with their swining line and length deliveries..but Commooon, pace bowling in120s .......YUCK!!!
hassan_113 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Why do I like this guy? SWING He bowls beautiful outswingers and can reverse it nicely too. We'll have to see how he does, but good luck Bala!!
The Outsider Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I am not a fanatical admirer of pace, but 120-125 at international level just does not cut it, no matter how many variations you have an no matter how much swing you can get. Yes, you can get the odd Bracken(who BTW is useless in tests and can actually bowl 130-135 at times) but 130 is the bare minimum for an international bowler to be consistently threatening.
h4te Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I wonder if this is a devious ploy by the West Zone to weaken the South Zone ahead of the Duleep Trophy finals? :hmmm: Balaji is definitely not bound to play in any of the matches because of Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar. If he has any chance of playing, it would be in the 5th ODI if we have won the 3rd and 4th ODI...selecting Kulkarni instead of Balaji would've weakened the West Zone! I like the thinking here! :giggle:
Feed Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Hard work and perseverance pays for Balaji The national cricket selectors are convinced that Lakshmipathy Balaji is ready to be bowling for India again after his carefully charted comeback from a back injury that kept him out of the national side for three years. More... Hard work and perseverance pays for Balaji IANS New Delhi, February 2, 2009 The national cricket selectors are convinced that Lakshmipathy Balaji is ready to be bowling for India again after his carefully charted comeback from a back injury that kept him out of the national side for three years. Just when the Indian team was playing their second one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Balaji was bowling flat out against North Zone playing for South in the Duleep Trophy at Rajkot. Came the news that Munaf Patel is returning home with a groin injury and the Tamil Nadu pacer was the obvious choice as replacement for his experience. If the Indian Premier League (IPL) had helped any cricketer the most, it was Balaji who had around the time started taking his first steps on a comeback trail last summer. The four-over spells gave him the necessary encouragement and thereafter he was running in hard the entire domestic season. He was delighted to be back in the national squad. "It feels great to be back in the India squad. I have worked hard the entire season for this day. Co-incidentally my last international match was also in Sri Lanka," Balaji told IANS on Monday. He was the most popular Indian cricketer on the 2004 tour of Pakistan. As he ran in to bowl, spectators at every stadium went up in chorus "Ba-la-ji zara dheere chalo," an adapted line from a hit Hindi film number. Balaji charmed everyone with his infectious smile, belying his fast gaining status as an aggressive strike bowler. He performed well, claiming 12 wickets in three Tests. In the return series in 2005, Balaji turned out to be the top wicket-taker for India in the three-Test series with 14 wickets. His career was on the upswing when he was struck by a stress fracture after only eight Tests and 29 one-dayers. The injured back almost crippled him and he missed out two seasons after a back surgery. The last three years had been tough, more so telling himself not to give up. He quietly started working on his fitness, strengthening back muscles. He had to remodel his action and once he started bowling in the local league, he gained confidence. Then came the IPL and he was in the highly successful Chennai Super Kings. "I am grateful to Chennai Super Kings. They believed in me and gave me the platform to prove myself again. I just kept on giving my best and everything fell in place for me," he said. The 27-year-old was nippy and had the distinction of performing the first IPL hat-trick against Kings XI Punjab. He finished with 11 wickets from nine games and that removed all doubts from everyone's mind about his comeback. "The last three years have been the toughest in my career. Now I am happy that the hard work I have put in all these years to comeback didn't go waste. It was a tough journey, but when the going gets tough the tough get going."
rkt.india Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Finally' date=' we have a South Indian in the ODI squad. After a long time,we were playing ODIs without a player from the South Zone.[/quote'] Ojha is from south zone
fineleg Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 "The last three years have been the toughest in my career. Now I am happy that the hard work I have put in all these years to comeback didn't go waste. It was a tough journey, but when the going gets tough the tough get going." Bala - interview ellam podhum. when you get a chance, make sure you take wickets. that will speak more than all these sound bites, else you'll be back bowling in domestics. Not easy to resurrect the career, good luck.
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