 | News |  |
HOME | BOLLYWOOD | MOVIES | CRICKET | DIWALI | E-CARDS | COOKING | BABY NAMES | JOKES | FESTIVALS | MOBILES | CARS & BIKES | ||
InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > India-Pakistan Cricket Series 2004 > Balaji keen to develop into an all-rounder 22.05 IST 18th Apr 2004 By IndiaExpress Bureau Young seam bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji, who was rated as one of the most popular Indian cricketers during the just concluded tour of Pakistan, has set his eyes on becoming an all-rounder, perhaps in a bid to emulate the legendary Kapil Dev. Balaji, who came in for praise from none other than Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for his heroic batting in the second match of the one-day series, expressed his desire to concentrate more on his batting and fielding. "The need of the hour now is to concentrate on improving my abilities in all departments of the game like batting besides my bowling," Balaji, whose two unbeaten timely knocks, including 21 off just 12 balls in the third one-dayer, propelled him to the second spot in the batting averages, said at the airport after his arrival from Delhi on Sunday. The Indian new ball bowler, who took six wickets in the five ODIs and 12 in the three Tests, said he was more than happy to be part of the series winning team but added he had to maintain his fitness levels for more laurels. Balaji recalled that his mother's ambition that "we (India) should defeat Pakistan ". "We not only defeated Pakistan in both versions of the game but I was part of both the winning teams," he said. The Tamil Nadu player, who came to prominence due to injuries to Avishkar Salvi, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, said he would rest for about two weeks before resuming full fledged training. "After about 15-days of rest, I will commence my full fledged training to fine tune my bowling, serious batting practice and fielding besides putting into effect the training schedule given by team trainer," he said. in-depth coverage > India-Pakistan Cricket Series 2004 > |
Marigold (Review) The Last Legion (Slideshow) Chak De India (Review) Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (Slideshow) Sachin Tendulkar makes Atherton eat his words Sachin Tendulkar joins 11,000 Test run club Sachin Tendulkar becomes third highest run-getter Sachin Tendulkar stills dreams about century at Lord's Tendulkar to go in Tests with confident frame of mind I am nowhere near the final stop yet: Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar closes in on Waugh’s Test aggregate Aviva Life signs Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador I am unfazed by criticism: Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar becomes first player to score 15,000 ODI runs Sachin's views on keeping Indian cricket at pace with times Tendulkar back into top twenty Entertainment Marigold : Movie Review When Salman and Ali Larter went Jet Skiing Ayesha Takia and Akshay Kumar in a supernatural thriller Sushmita Sen dating Dia Mirza's ex 'The Last Lear' selected for Toronto Film Festival |
