The Hindu : L. Balaji: tough as they come

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 16, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

L. Balaji: tough as they come
By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, MARCH 15. The attention was riveted on a rookie, a very promising right arm fast medium bowler, Laxmipathy Balaji, at the Wankhede Stadium here as India `A' team coach Yashpal Sharma tossed the new ball to the Tamil Nadu lad and kept him in action for more than an hour.

The batsmen at the other end were Amit Pagnis, Gautam Gambhir, Jacob Martin and Abhijit Kale. Balaji bowled his heart out. After a while he said: ``I have never bowled on a pitch like this.'' There was gleam in his eyes. Debashish Mohanty concurred with Balaji. ``I have been playing first class and international cricket for five years. I have not bowled on a pitch like this.''

Well, nobody would have grudged, had Balaji been picked for the tour of West Indies. But there is no reason for unhappiness. A big success for Tamil Nadu in this year's Ranji Trophy, Balaji's performance has been recognised with reward in the form of tour to South Africa with the India `A' team. Quite a few times Balaji's name has been uttered by Javagal Srinath. Even India's coach, John Wright, has seen him in action.

Balaji appears tough. He definitely has the potential to join the Indian ranks in the immediate future. He should be encouraged and nurtured. Indian cricket should not waste time.

Like Balaji, Mohanty, who has been in and out of the Indian team, looked a completely different bowler today. Both bowled beautifully on the practice pitch at the Wankhede. The surface was greenish, fast and had even bounce. Yashpal was happy the bowlers got opportunity to practice on a pitch that was full of `life'.

Apart from Balaji and Mohanty, the India `A' team which leaves for South Africa on Monday night has two more seamers-Delhi's Amit Bhandari and Baroda's Rakesh Patel. The spinners in the side are leggie Amit Mishra, who got six wickets in an innings against Zimbabwe in Vijayawada, and left arm spinner Murali Kartik. Captain Dinesh Mongia, Venugopal Rao and Rohan Gavaskar can also turn their arm over.

The 12 members of the team began their preparation for the South Africa tour with a light work out in the morning at the Brabourne Stadium and a full net session at the Wankhede in the evening. Dinesh Mongia, Mohd. Kaif and Kartik, who have been picked for the one-day Internationals against Zimbabwe in Hyderabad and Guwahati, are expected to leave for South Africa later.

Yashpal said the tour of South Africa would be a big exposure for the players. ``Unless you compete with international teams, you don't know where you stand. There is a big gap between first class cricket and international cricket. I adjusted overnight. But I learned the nuances of the game from the seniors. I played in 37 Test matches and would have played more if I had the advantage of big players coaching the team then. I am sure these boys would make the selectors job a difficult one for the next year's World Cup in South Africa, where I went five years ago. Performance counts. In the 1983 World Cup even players like Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri had to sit out.''

``This is a golden opportunity for them. Six of them have played for India. Three are currently with the Indian team. So there is plenty of talent and potential in the team.''

Apart from Balaji, another young man who caught the attention was left hander Gautam Gambhir. He has got an odd grip, the top hand, controlling the bat a long way down from the top of the handle. He had problems aplenty, especially while driving, when facing Balaji and Mohanty on lively practice pitch.

India `A' team: Dinesh Mongia (captain), Mohd. Kaif, Murali Kartik, Amit Pagnis, Gautam Gambhir, Jacob Martin, Abhijit Kale, Venugopal Rao, Parthiv Patel, Rohan Gavaskar, Debashish Mohanty, L. Balaji, Rakesh Patel, Amit Bhandari, Amit Mishra. Coach: Yashpal Sharma: Physio: Arjun Rana. Manager: Vikram Patel.

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