Lakshmipathy Balaji: can he make a comeback?

[la28]

I'm not saying I hate Balaji. Actually I respect this guy a lot because he's very hard working and it took some guts for him to make it back into the team after that disastrous debut in 2002. I think he has a great attitude because he's very down to earth. Plus Balaji's the only player in the indian team who hasnt fell for endorsements. but as a bowler he has a long way to go, to say the least. You have to admit he has great potential because he was the best bowler during the third test of the India-pak series, five catches were dropped off his bowling and he still managed to get seven wickets in the match. but during the Asia Cup he bowled extremely wayward and struggled throughout. Some people think he'll never play again and others think he will get back in form during the Holland Cup. He's a good guy but i dont think he has enough confidence left in him and needs to do some serious work. What do you think?

 

[marc71178]

He's not yet 23.

I would expect he'll play many more matches.

 

[Waughney]

I have no doubt that he will froce his way back into the Indian team in the near future.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

No doubt he will be back.. i think really there are only like 3-4 med/med fast Bowlers contesting for a spot that didnt make the team for the ICC etc.. Bhandari, Salvi, SS Paul(he looks impressive) and Balaji.. Ofcourse khan too but hes injured ..

 

[delkap]

You all are talking as if Balaji has been dropped !!! He is still in the team and for all we know still Ganguly's second choice ... The discussion about whether he can come back is stupid IMO, he didn't play a couple of games, doesn't mean he has been sidelined..

 

[JASON]

I have no doubt he will be back, considering how well he performed in the VB series and some other ODI's in India before that. Just because he conceded a few runs in SL doesn't make him a bad ODI bowler. Zaheer has done that several times, particularly the shocking opening over in the World Cup final.

 

[V Reddy]

Balaji was really struggling to control the ball in the Asia Cup. I think he will be back in form as soon as the Videocon and Natwest Challenge

 

[Richard]

Balaji looks to me like a slightly lesser Agarkar.
I'll be surprised if he's a fixture the way Pathan looks like becoming.

 

[luckyeddie]

Young enough to come again - for sure.
Good enough to come again - probably.
Mentally tough enough to come again - only time will tell.

 

[Richard]

Mental toughness - all part of being good.

 

[luckyeddie]

Mental toughness - all part of being good.

Agreed - should have realised you were back and wrote a thesis on the meaning of the word 'talent'

 

[ReallyCrazy]

when Balaji broke his bat while batting in pakistan, he became one of my fav players! i thought he bowled really well in pakistan. He became the fav Indian player to many pakistanis as well (my friend for one). I hope he makes the team again. Any bowler can have one bad series.

 

[Nate]

his action is pretty weird tho eh?? ah well, i hope he comes back well.

 

[Richard]

when Balaji broke his bat while batting in pakistan, he became one of my fav players! i thought he bowled really well in pakistan. He became the fav Indian player to many pakistanis as well (my friend for one). I hope he makes the team again. Any bowler can have one bad series.

Yeah, amazing how many Pakistanis took to him.
Apparently they cheered for him far more regularly than for Dravid or anyone else.

 

[Arjun]

I have no doubt he will be back, considering how well he performed in the VB series

How well? He was average against the Zims and awful against the Aussies, ending the series with an average of 42.

He is one of many Indian pace bowling heroes who profit from low bounce of Indian pitches by bowling short repeatedly, because of which he is a target on faster pitches. He needs to adjust his line and length when playing in different conditions.

Another weakness is his approach to the wicket- it is very diagonal. That will reduce his bowled/LBW chances. If he runs in straight, towards the stumps, he will not only improve those chances, but also cut down on his infamous wide count.

He lacks the pace to be effective as a fast bowler, so trying to bowl like a fast bowler won't help him at all. At his pace, he should swing the ball more often. His main strength as a bowler is the away swing. When conditions don't suit his swing bowling, he should stick to a line and length, because at his slow pace (weakness of many Indian pace bowlers), if he bowls any loose deliveries, they can be attacked without posing any real threat to the batsman.

At present, Salvi and Bhandari are better bowlers in conditions away from home, especially in England, so Balaji has to try hard to stay in the team. He is a better batsman and fielder than these two, so that's his advantage, but they're not the worst fielders either. Apart from bowling, he should improve his six-hitting and be more consistent as a fielder.

 

[V Reddy]

"Life would be dull without idiots" - Navjot Singh Sidhu

 

[luckyeddie]

"Life would be dull without idiots" - Navjot Singh Sidhu

Equally, it would be dull without Navjot Singh Sidhu.

How's his parliamentary speeches coming along - as 'colourful' as his cricket commentary?

 

[Sehwag309]

This is been going on, who ever is kicked out comes back
D.Mongia and Agarkar were not selected and they are doing well in their respective assignments

Now, Agarkar is picked and D.Mongia also might get a chance

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Equally, it would be dull without Navjot Singh Sidhu.

How's his parliamentary speeches coming along - as 'colourful' as his cricket commentary?

i must say i havent heard from the man in ages..
hopefully do get an opportunity soon.. is he going to the ICC trophy as a commentator?

 

[JASON]

How well? He was average against the Zims and awful against the Aussies, ending the series with an average of 42.

He is one of many Indian pace bowling heroes who profit from low bounce of Indian pitches by bowling short repeatedly, because of which he is a target on faster pitches. He needs to adjust his line and length when playing in different conditions.

VB Series, 2003-04 Best Bowling Economy Rate


Name Mat O M R W Ave Best 4w 5w SR Econ
A Bhandari 1 7.4 0 31 3 10.33 3-31 - - 15.3 4.04 IND
HK Badani 8 7 0 31 1 31.00 1-31 - - 42.0 4.42 IND
A Kumble 5 47 2 227 2 113.50 1-38 - - 141.0 4.82 IND
V Sehwag 6 22 1 107 3 35.66 2-40 - - 44.0 4.86 IND
L Balaji 10 90 6 441 13 33.92 4-48 1 - 41.5 4.90 IND
AB Agarkar 6 52.4 4 281 11 25.54 6-42 - 1 28.7 5.33 IND
A Nehra 4 36 2 199 5 39.80 2-63 - - 43.2 5.52 IND
IK Pathan 10 89.4 4 497 16 31.06 4-24 1 - 33.6 5.54 IND
SB Bangar 2 11 0 61 1 61.00 1-42 - - 66.0 5.54 IND
RS Gavaskar 6 9 0 56 1 56.00 1-56 - - 54.0 6.22 IND
SC Ganguly 9 30 0 189 6 31.50 3-41 - - 30.0 6.30 IND
M Kartik 4 26 0 178 1 178.00 1-39 - - 156.0 6.84 IND
SR Tendulkar 7 8 0 60 1 60.00 1-60 - - 48.0 7.50 IND

His economy rate was better than Pathan, Agarkar or Nehra. Average only slightly worse than Pathan. Although in ODI's economy is more relevant . Maybe he had a couple of bad games but there are others who did worse than him. May be Salvi, Bandari should be given an opportunity in future ODI's to see how they can do.