Wisden overview
Touted as India's next seam-bowling hope, L Balaji's first brush with international cricket was rather brief, and eminently forgettable. Spraying the ball all over the place on a Vadodara shirtfront, Balaji was hammered for plenty by the West Indian openers, and then promptly shunted back to the domestic ranks, from where he had risen so spectacularly just a season ago. Making his first-class debut in 2001-02, Balaji was fast-tracked as a national prospect after a string of impressive performances for Tamil Nadu. He toured South Africa and Sri Lanka with the A team, and was the most incisive Indian fast bowler on view, getting plenty of wickets with his ability to mix the straighter ones with his stock delivery, the indipper. However, as his international debut showed, he has a long way to go before he can cut the grade at the highest level. S Rajesh

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