South Zone Coach, and the coach of Tamil Nadu which Balaji plays for is fully convinced that based on the sheer performance Balaji should be able to be a part of the Indian team as one of the four fast bowlers. For Raman, the first test, which Balaji had to pass, was to get selected to the South Zone squad before the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Uttar Pradesh. Balaji passed this first hurdle, and he reached the second stage when he got selected in the Indian ODI squad in Sri Lanka. The one-off performance may not have been that electrifying, but it was contextualised by the Indian captain MS Dhoni, when he said that Balaji came on to bowl as the change bowler the Sri Lankan players where on a song, so he had to receive some flake.

Now there are full chances that Balaji may find a place for himself in the Indian squad as one of the four medium pace bowlers. The confidence of Raman that Balaji would get a call is owing to the bowlers vying for slot and includes Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel (if he is fit), and Balaji . Even the sources from BCCI have shown their inclination to pick up Balaji as the fourth medium pacer, and thee decision has to be taken whether a fifth medium pace bowler is required or not. In such a scenario Cricket360.com wonders, whether Irfan Pathan would find a place for himself or not.  

Having come into contention one again is a matter of great delight for Balaji as he has defied the injuries and after a hiatus of three years, (last time he played an international cricket was in 2005), is vying to come back and raring to go. It would be one of the rare instances in the history of cricket where a player after being laid by injury for more than three years is making a comeback, and Balaji has a point to prove and he should be able to prove it in New Zealand.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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