Chennai: It seems just like yesterday, on a warm summer morning of 2004 when the young pacer from Tamil Nadu, Laskhmipathy Balaji made his debut for the Men in Blue in the longest format of the game. But time flew, and like all good things come to an end, so does his career.

Although, Balaji featured in only 8 Tests and a handful of ODIs, he shot to fame during the series against Pakistan in 2004 when he smashed a six off Shoaib Akhtar which also resulted in his bat cracking into two halves. He coupled this with impressive outings with the ball and looked set to establish a long successful career with the national team.

But destiny had other plans. His career was plagued by injuries and every time he looked to be in good touch, his injuries played spoilsport and Balaji always found it difficult to get back to full fitness.

While he was sidelined by injuries, India had already groomed a bunch of quality pacers and Balaji found it hard to get the much needed break into the team.

On the domestic circuit, he has tasted a lot of success and one would only wonder that fate has been cruel to him.

Releasing his press statement, Balaji stated that he has a young family to focus on and has given it his all during his 16 year long career.