On Balaji's trail

' When I began to play I desperately wanted to get my first five-wicket haul against Pakistan ' - Lakshmipathy Balaji © Getty Images

"Ba-la-ji zara dheere chalo," rang the adapted version of the chorus from that 2002 Hindi film Dum, perhaps more popular across the border in Pakistan than back in India. At every city, whether it was in Peshawar, where Lakshmipathy Balaji launched Shoaib Akhtar into the stands, at Lahore, where his smile had young women students at a management college ignoring Rahul Dravid, or at Rawalpindi where he confounded Inzamam-ul-Haq with a ball that moved in and seamed away, he struck gold. There was nothing he could do wrong. When Pakistan came to India soon after, Balaji bowled his heart out, picking up nine wickets at Mohali. Since then, though, he has been dropped from the team, struggled with injury and, it seems, almost forgotten.

"That tour of Pakistan in 2004 was very important. It's been one of the most memorable series the team has had in recent times. I feel really proud to say I was a part of that team because we did well both in the Tests and ODIs," Balaji told Cricinfo. "My dream was always to play with guys like Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul [Dravid]. When you start playing cricket, it is guys like this who are your inspiration. To play alongside them, and to contribute to the team winning made me very proud." Balaji picked up 12 wickets from three Tests, bowling some impeccable spells liberally dotted with unplayable deliveries, so he was no mere passenger playing alongside idols. What's more, his wickets came at a strike rate of one per 53 balls, just a shade behind Anil Kumble (52.2).

On top of his wicket-taking and big hitting, Balaji, for reasons best known to the Pakistani public, was bestowed almost folk-hero status. Riding this crest, he was on top of the world when Pakistan toured India in early 2005, and once again success was not far away "I should not say so myself, but I've done well against Pakistan," says Balaji, and you can almost picture that shy smile. "From early childhood when I used to watch India playing on TV, it used to be a different feeling against Pakistan. When I began to play, I desperately wanted to get my first five-wicket haul against Pakistan." And he managed that, on the way to 9 for 171 in the first Test at Mohali. Balaji's reluctantance to speak about his record against Pakistan is understandable - if you know the man, he likes to bowl, rather than talk - but there's nothing to be ashamed of - 26 wickets from six Tests.

Following Pakistan's tour of India, though, Balaji ran into a tough patch. He went to Sri Lanka, played just one ODI, where he bowled no worse than anyone else, and on return was dropped from the side. "I got dropped after the Sri Lanka tour. It was not that I was injured then," says Balaji. "It was much after that that I got a back strain." Balaji has now been out of action five weeks, but the recovery is going well and he's just begun to bowl again.

He has always trained hard, an attitude that impressed John Wright, the previous coach, and even Greg Chappell in the little that he saw of Balaji. "If you look at the injuries I've got, they are not because of a lack of training," explains Balaji. "I've been working very hard on my body - but that's not all in my hands, it's what God has given me - and done well in recent fitness tests. I'm not really worried, but I've literally been praying that my body should co-operate with me, and that I should get back to peak bowling fitness."

'If I'm dropped it means I wasn't doing a good enough job' © Getty Images

He will not admit it, but Balaji was furious - either with himself or with the selectors - when he was dropped from the team after the tour to Sri Lanka. The day he returned to Chennai, he marched into his club team's nets and bowled as fast as he ever had, for as long as he could, reportedly because the coach of an Asian team playing in the tournament had commented that Balaji was not an ODI player. Ask him about the disappointment of being dropped and you'll understand more about his attitude. "There's nothing to be disappointed about. It's all about performance. If you take wickets like Anil [Kumble] does, or score runs like Rahul [Dravid], no selector is going to drop you. That's what cricket is about. I've never given excuses for my performances or complained about being dropped. If I'm dropped, it means I wasn't doing a good enough job. You have to be consistent, and that will come, I have faith and belief that it will come back soon."

It's ironic that he should talk about a moment arriving. When you ring his mobile phone, the caller tune that greets is a film song that goes, "Aane waala pal/ jaane waala hai/ Ho sake toh isme/ zindagi bita do/ Pal jo yeh jaane waala hai" [The moment that is about to be, will soon be gone. If you can, if it's possible, live your life, a lifetime, in that moment.] Now Bala's Hindi is no better than his ballroom dancing, but he certainly understands the importance of making the most of the opportunities that come his way. The moment when he takes the new ball for India in a Test again is not here just yet, but when it comes, you sense that he won't waste it.