Sagi Lakshmi Venkatapathy Raju, sometimes spelt Venkapathy Raju[1] (born 9 July 1969) is a former Indian cricketer , cricket administrators & cricket coach. He came into the Indian side in 1989–90 after capturing 32 wickets in the domestic season. He made his Test and One Day International début in the tour of New Zealand. When sent in as a night-watchman in his first Test innings, he batted for more than two hours for 31 runs while six wickets fell at the other end. He was part of the Indian team in England in 1990, but the knuckle of his left hand was broken by Courtney Walsh in the match against Gloucestershire which ended his tour.
Back home in India, he helped India win the one-off Test against Sri Lanka in the only Test match played at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Raju was a last-minute selection on a wicket that afforded turn and kept low. On the second day, he ran through the Lankan middle order with a spell of 5 wickets for two runs in 39 balls. He took one more wicket on the next day to finish with 6 for 12 in 17.5 overs, four of the batsmen failed to score. His match figures of 8 for 37 in 53 overs won him the only man of the match award of his international career.[2] He has played two World Cups for India in 1992 and 1996.
He continued playing for Hyderabad for many years, making the final of the 1999–2000 Ranji Trophy. He retired from first-class cricket in December 2004, after a domestic match against Uttar Pradesh.
Raju was the vice president of Hyderabad Cricket Association.[4] Earlier, he was the selector for Indian Cricket Team from the south zone during 2007-2008, when India won the ICC World T20 under Dhoni's captaincy. Currently working as a commentator for Hotstar Telugu premium channel for CWC2019.[5]
Role model status
Left-arm orthodox spinner Pragyan Ojha claimed in an interview that it was Raju that inspired him to play for India.[5]
Very surprising decision of not picking him in 1996 World Cup Semi Final cost India heavily as they could not make using of spin track of Eden Gardens, Kolkata & lost heavily. Later in Singapore Raju picked 3 wickets against SL and won the match for India.
References
^Vijay Lokapally (3 November 1993). "India in Sri Lanka, 1993-94 - Sri Lanka". Sportstar. Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
^Wisden reports of Sri Lanka's tour of India, 1990–91
^"INDIAN CRICKET COUPLES". Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^"Venkatapathy Raju: The man who changed his fortunes by switching over from a right-arm off-spinner to a left-arm spinner!". Retrieved 23 April 2014.
Interview of Venkatapathy Raju in CricketFundas.com
Muscles of Might
Interview of Venkatapathy Raju in Telangana Today
March 08, 2023
venkatapathy, raju, sagi, lakshmi, sometimes, spelt, venkapathy, raju, born, july, 1969, former, indian, cricketer, cricket, administrators, cricket, coach, came, into, indian, side, 1989, after, capturing, wickets, domestic, season, made, test, international,. Sagi Lakshmi Venkatapathy Raju sometimes spelt Venkapathy Raju 1 born 9 July 1969 is a former Indian cricketer cricket administrators amp cricket coach He came into the Indian side in 1989 90 after capturing 32 wickets in the domestic season He made his Test and One Day International debut in the tour of New Zealand When sent in as a night watchman in his first Test innings he batted for more than two hours for 31 runs while six wickets fell at the other end He was part of the Indian team in England in 1990 but the knuckle of his left hand was broken by Courtney Walsh in the match against Gloucestershire which ended his tour Venkatapathy RajuPersonal informationFull nameSagi Lakshmi Venkatapathy RajuBorn 1969 07 09 9 July 1969 age 53 Alamuru West Godavari Andhra Pradesh IndiaNicknameMuscles LacchiBattingRight handedBowlingSlow left arm orthodoxRoleBowlerInternational informationNational sideIndiaTest debut cap 189 2 February 1990 v New ZealandLast Test11 March 2001 v AustraliaODI debut cap 75 1 March 1990 v New ZealandLast ODI26 May 1996 v EnglandCareer statisticsCompetition Test ODIs FC LAMatches 28 53 177 124Runs scored 240 32 1 952 109Batting average 10 00 4 00 13 18 5 45100s 50s 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0Top score 31 8 54 22Balls bowled 7 602 2 770 42 710 6430Wickets 93 63 589 152Bowling average 30 72 31 96 27 72 29 985 wickets in innings 5 0 31 110 wickets in match 1 0 5 0Best bowling 6 12 4 46 7 82 6 39Catches stumpings 6 8 71 26 Source CricInfo 4 February 2006Back home in India he helped India win the one off Test against Sri Lanka in the only Test match played at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh Raju was a last minute selection on a wicket that afforded turn and kept low On the second day he ran through the Lankan middle order with a spell of 5 wickets for two runs in 39 balls He took one more wicket on the next day to finish with 6 for 12 in 17 5 overs four of the batsmen failed to score His match figures of 8 for 37 in 53 overs won him the only man of the match award of his international career 2 He has played two World Cups for India in 1992 and 1996 He last played a Test match against Australia in Calcutta where he captured the wicket of Mark Waugh He continued playing for Hyderabad for many years making the final of the 1999 2000 Ranji Trophy He retired from first class cricket in December 2004 after a domestic match against Uttar Pradesh Contents 1 Early life 2 Present role 3 Role model status 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditVenkatapathy Raju grew up in Hyderabad and attended The Hyderabad Public School Ramanthapur in Hyderabad Raju is married to uma maheshwari 3 Present role EditRaju was the vice president of Hyderabad Cricket Association 4 Earlier he was the selector for Indian Cricket Team from the south zone during 2007 2008 when India won the ICC World T20 under Dhoni s captaincy Currently working as a commentator for Hotstar Telugu premium channel for CWC2019 5 Role model status EditLeft arm orthodox spinner Pragyan Ojha claimed in an interview that it was Raju that inspired him to play for India 5 Very surprising decision of not picking him in 1996 World Cup Semi Final cost India heavily as they could not make using of spin track of Eden Gardens Kolkata amp lost heavily Later in Singapore Raju picked 3 wickets against SL and won the match for India References Edit Vijay Lokapally 3 November 1993 India in Sri Lanka 1993 94 Sri Lanka Sportstar Cricinfo Retrieved 20 November 2019 Wisden reports of Sri Lanka s tour of India 1990 91 INDIAN CRICKET COUPLES Retrieved 15 December 2022 Venkatapathy Raju The man who changed his fortunes by switching over from a right arm off spinner to a left arm spinner Retrieved 23 April 2014 a b Raju inspires Pragyan OjhaExternal links EditInterview of Venkatapathy Raju in CricketFundas com Muscles of Might Interview of Venkatapathy Raju in Telangana Today Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Venkatapathy Raju amp oldid 1141578195, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
