Out of the national side for the past three years, pacer Lakshmipathi Balaji has been included as an additional bowler in the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Chennai Super Kings team.

Announcing Balaji’s inclusion, VB Chandrasekar, a former selector and head of cricketing matters in the Chennai Super Kings, said, “We have pitchforked him in our team as an additional bowler. He has been in action after recovery from injury in the TNCA’s first division matches this season.

“Balaji has been effective in two spells of 10 overs, though he has not been tried on the trot. He is surely going to be a lethal weapon in our scheme of things in the Twenty 20 IPL matches,” he said. He said the squad list would first be sent to BCCI’s IPL Committee by Tuesday evening. “This is mandatory. We cannot officially release the list to the media now. You will have two or three more surprises in our composition,” Chandrasekar added.
Balaji was sidelined after a stress fracture and last played for India in 2005, during the Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka. He returned to action in the Irani Cup and Challenger Series in 2006.

Balaji made his Test debut against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in October 2003.
He has claimed 27 and 34 wickets in eight Tests (average 37.18) and 29 one-dayers (38.58) respectively.