Venkatapathy Raju
IndiaVenkatapathy Raju is a former professional cricketer from India. He plays for the India Men’s National Cricket Team. He made his Test Cricket debut in February 1990 and his One Day Internationals debut in March of the same year.
Player Profile
Sagi Lakshmi Venkatapathy Raju was born on July 9, 1969, in Alamuru, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India. He is nicknamed ‘Muscles’ and ‘Lacchi’.Raju is a right-handed batter and he bowls with his left arm with a slow orthodox pace.
Career
He started playing for the India Men’s National Cricket Team in the 1990-1991 season and that was also when he made his Test Cricket and One Day Internationals Debut.In the early 90s, he formed a spin trio with Anil Kumble and Rajesh Chauhan. During the latter part of the decade, he suffered some setbacks in the international scene. However, he still managed to perform excellently in the domestic circuit.
Raju’s best performance was possibly in the 1994-95 season. While playing against the West Indies. He made 20 dismissals in the 3 Test matches that he played.
After his professional career, he served as the vice president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. He also later worked as a commentator for Hotstar for the World Cup in 2019.
Career Highlights
Venkatapathy Raju has participated in 53 ODIs and has made 63 dismissals in the 2770 deliveries bowled by him while conceding 2014 runs.His bowling average was 31.96, his economy rate was 4.36, and his bowling strike rate was 43.9. He got the chance to bat in 16 innings in which he scored 32 runs at a batting strike rate of 47.76.
Career Statistics
- Matches - 28 (Test), 53 (ODI), 177
- Runs scored - 240 (Test), 32 (ODI),
- Batting average - 10.00 (Test), 4.00