Balaji credits IPL for growth of pacers

In the last 12 months, many a young pacer has been in the frame for an India call-up, and according to the 36-year-old Balaji, this has been made possible due to the IPL. 

“Over the years, the IPL has given the budding Indian pacers a platform to flourish. Nobody had seen much of Hardik Pandya in the domestic circuit until he made a name for himself with Mumbai Indians where his extra zip became more obvious. Even Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s transformation was due to the experience he gained from playing in the IPL. Today, he is widely acknowledged to be the best death bowler, along with Jasprit Bumrah, who also has the same IPL to thank for,” said Balaji. 

Left-arm fast bowler from Saurashtra, Jaydev Unadkat, who was named the man of the series in the just concluded T20 series against Sri Lanka, enjoyed an outstanding IPL 10 as he finished with 24 wickets for Rising Pune Supergiant that helped him get back into the selection scheme of things. “Performing well in IPL has its own merits as was seen in the case of Unadkat. Mohammed Siraj and Basil Thampi are the other two who received an India call-up on the back of their good showing. The conditions and situations they bowl at the IPL is pretty much the same as that of the international standards. I’m sure a lot of other young Indian pacers such as Navdeep Saini and Rajnish Gurbani will be keenly followed during the IPL auctions,” added Balaji. 

At Chennai: Final: Don Bosco MHSS 181 for 4 in 20 overs (V Abishek 72) beat AVM Rajeshwari MHSS 111 all out in 19.5 overs (Adithya Venkatesh 21, M Anish 4/30, TM Shreyas 2/9)