Lakshmipathy Balaji

Lakshmipathy Balaji wiki, age, height, caste, wife, family, education, net worth & more

Biography
Name	Lakshmipathy Balaji
Nickname	Smiling Assassin Naidu
Profession	Former Indian cricketer
Major teams	India (2002-2012) Tamil Nadu (2001-2016) Kings XI Punjab (2014) Kolkata Knight Riders (2011-2013) Chennai Super Kings (2008-2010)
Date of Birth	September 27, 1981
Age (In 2025)	43 Years 9 Month(s) 4 Days
Birth Place	Pollachi, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Nationality	Indian
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Brahmin
Mother Tongue	Tamil
Zodiac	Libra
Physical Stats
Height	in centimeters- 181 cm in meters- 1.81 m in feet inches- 5ft 11in
Eye Color	Black
Hair Color	Black
Family and Marriage Details
Marital Status	Married
Wife	Priya Thalur
Marriage Date	September 16, 2013
Children
Son(s)	Araan Balaji
Parents
Father	Lakshmipathy
Mother	Mallika
Sibling(s)
Sister(s)	Padmini Lakshmipathi 1 Vijayalakshmi (software engineer)
Cricket Information
Playing role	Bowler
Batting style	Right-handed bat
Bowling style	Right-arm fast medium
Test debut	October 8, 2003 – India vs New Zealand at Ahmedabad
Last Test	March 24, 2005 – India vs Pakistan at Bengaluru
ODI debut	November 18, 2002 – India vs West Indies at Vadodara
Last ODI	February 8, 2009 – India vs Sri Lanka at Colombo
T20I debut	September 11, 2012 – India vs New Zealand at Chennai
Last T20I	October 2, 2012 – India vs South Africa at Colombo
Education Details
School	Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
College	Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Educational Qualification	Graduate
Contact/Social Media Details
Twitter	@lbalaji55
Facebook	@laksh.balaji
Instagram	@balalee100
Youtube	@Lbalaji55
Other Details
Hobbies	Wild life Photography
Net Worth (Approx)	$1 Million – $5 Million
Alternate Name(s)	L balaji Laksh Balaji
Family Picture
Facts
Lakshmipathy Balaji is a former Indian international cricketer, who played as a right-arm fast medium bowler. He represented Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and played for Chennai Super Kings (2008-2010), Kolkata Knight Riders (2011-2013), and Kings XI Punjab (2014) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He played 8 Tests, 30 ODIs, and 5 T20Is for the Indian team. 2
Balaji was born on 27 September 1981 in Pollachi town of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu into a Tamil speaking Brahmin family to Lakshmipathy and his wife Mallika. He has two elder sisters named Padmini and Vijayalakshmi. 3 4
His father, Lakshmipathy worked as an assistant electrical inspector for Tamil Nadu Electrical Inspectorate, while his mother, Mallika worked for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. 5
His sister, Vijayalakshmi works as a Software Engineer for Cognizant Technology Solutions. 5
His family was academics-oriented and his sisters, Vijayalakshmi and Padmini did engineering in computer science and electronics and communications respectively. But Balaji was more passionate about cricket and struggled with his studies. He even had to repeat the seventh grade after failing his exams. 6 3
Balaji attended Chettinad Vidyashram in Chennai and later graduated from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai. 7
His uncle, also named L. Balaji, played a significant role in nurturing his cricketing talent. He saw the potential in the young Balaji and took him under his wing after he completed the tenth grade. 3
Lakshmipathy Balaji made his international debut in an ODI match against West Indies at Vadodara on 18 November 2002. He had a forgettable debut as he was hammered for 44 runs in his 4 overs. 8
His Test debut came against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on 8 October 2003, where he bowled 37 overs across the two innings and picked 1/105. 9
He made his T20I debut against New Zealand on 11 September 2012. 10
He earned the nickname “the smiling assassin” for his beautiful smile. However, not many people know that he once had a jaw surgery and due to that the alignment of his teeth is such that it gave an impression that he is always smiling. 11
Balaji won accolades for his performance in the 2004 India Pakistan series, taking 12 wickets in the Test series to help India secure a 2-1 victory. In addition to that, his memorable six off Shoaib Akhtar in the fifth ODI is still celebrated by fans. 12
He considered Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene to be the most challenging batsman to bowl to. 11
In March 2008, Balaji was signed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to play in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
On 10 May 2008, Balaji became the first bowler to grab a hat-trick in the inaugural IPL against Kings XI Punjab at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He dismissed Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, and VRV Singh in three consecutive balls in the last over of the match and was named the Man of the Match for his hit-trick and match figures of 5 for 24. 13
Lakshmipathy Balaji met Priya Thalur, a former Miss Chennai, for the first time in 2009 at a party organized by his friend and they began dating soon after. The couple got married on 16 September 2013, after a seven-year courtship in a private ceremony in Chennai. The couple was blessed with a son named Araan Balaji on 20 March 2016. 14 15
Ahead of the 2011 IPL season, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought Balaji for $500,000 in the IPL auction. 16
In the 2014 IPL Auction, Balaji was bought by Kings XI Punjab for INR 1.8 crores. 17
Lakshmipathy Balaji announced retirement from all forms of cricket in July 2017. 18
He is currently serving as the bowling coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. 19

References

1. https://www.facebook.com/padmini.vijayakumar.7[↩]
2. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/lakshmipathy-balaji-26829[↩]
3. https://m.rediff.com/cricket/report/sld2/20040429.htm[↩][↩][↩]
4. https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/lakshmipathy-balajis-post-retirement-life-with-wife-priya-thalur-25603/1[↩]
5. https://m.rediff.com/cricket/report/sld1/20040429.htm[↩][↩]
6. https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/balaji-against-racism-says-felt-humiliated-after-failing-in-class-7-scars-not-healed-yet-1689011-2020-06-14[↩]
7. https://rkmvc.ac.in/da/[↩]
8. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/west-indies-tour-of-india-2002-03-61947/india-vs-west-indies-5th-odi-64789/full-scorecard[↩]
9. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-tour-of-india-2003-04-62130/india-vs-new-zealand-1st-test-64046/full-scorecard[↩]
10. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-tour-of-india-2012-565793/india-vs-new-zealand-2nd-t20i-565820/full-scorecard[↩]
11. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/quick-singles-with-l-balaji-597369[↩][↩]
12. https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/series/averages-batting-bowling-by-team/india-in-pakistan-test-series-2003-04-503?team=6[↩]
13. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/indian-premier-league-2007-08-313494/chennai-super-kings-vs-kings-xi-punjab-31st-match-336013/live-cricket-score[↩]
14. https://www.ibtimes.co.in/cricketer-balaji-weds-priya-thalur-sivakarthikeyan-badrinath-muttiah-muralitharan-and-others-attend-506873[↩]
15. https://www.instagram.com/p/C4uanOzPXEC/[↩]
16. https://cricket.rediff.com/commentary/2011/jan/09/liveupdates.htm[↩]
17. https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/news/players-bought-on-day-one-of-2014-ipl-auction-667977.html[↩]
18. https://www.india.com/sports/lakshmipathy-balaji-announces-retirement-from-all-forms-of-cricket-2367405/[↩]
19. https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/cricket/2023/Dec/19/csk-signed-players-with-future-in-mind-balaji-2643064.html[↩]