Lakshmipathy Balaji admitted he was feeling a touch nervous about his international comeback after nearly three years in the wilderness.
Lakshmipathy Balaji admitted he was feeling a touch nervous about his international comeback after nearly three years in the wilderness.
The Tamil Nadu medium pacer who has been selected as replacement for Munaf Patel for the last three ODIs in Sri Lanka told MiD DAY, "I am making a comeback and naturally I am feeling the goose bumps. But, it's more because of the excitement. I hope to get my chance and prove myself."
Stress fracture
Ironically, Balaji last played for India in Sri Lanka in an ODI in 2005. A stress fracture of the back kept him out of the game. He returned to first-class cricket this season.
Balaji has been the most remarkable story of the current domestic season and has won his place thanks to his 36 wickets from seven games at 17.50 for Tamil Nadu.
"I have been doing well at the domestic level and the next level is international cricket. I was expecting a call-up at some point of time," said Balaji a couple of hours before boarding the flight to Colombo last evening.
Looking back at his struggle to recover from injury, he said, "It's a big motivation for me just to be where I am now. I am thrilled by the selection. It's a good opportunity for me. I have done the hardwork and I hope the results will be sweet for me."
