A freewheeling legspinner who can bat, Sairaj Bahutule provides balance and an attacking edge to any cricket team. From watching Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli tear him apart in a 664-run partnership in school cricket, he graduated to play alongside them for Mumbai. A fine run of performances, which culminated in a 13-wicket haul in the Irani Cup in 1997-98, led him into the Indian team. But a brief string of one-dayers on subcontinental sleepers was damaging, and he had to go back to domestic cricket. Three years later, Anil Kumble's extended injury allowed for a Test call-up against Australia, but since then he sunk back to merely being a contender. In 2005, after 15 years with Mumbai, Bahutule moved to Maharashtra for better pay among other reasons. He took 54 wickets at 28.22 in the three years with the side. In 2008 he moved back to Mumbai and immediately became part of a Ranji-winning side.