Wisden overview
A left-arm finger-spinner who loves to give the ball some elevation and a big tweak, Venkatapathy Raju has been part of India's ever-changing spin supporting cast for over a decade. When he made his debut in 1989-90, he was seen as the logical heir to a tradition that had spawned Bishan Singh Bedi, Dilip Doshi and Maninder Singh. But for all his prowess on designer spin-tracks at home - where he lived up to his nickname "Muscles" - he was never a factor abroad. Eclipsed by Anil Kumble, Raju was reduced to a stock bowler, a role he was clearly ill at ease with given his penchant for tossing the batsmen a challenge or two. There have been several abortive comebacks - but the last, against Australia at Calcutta early in 2001, was an unmitigated disaster. Dileep Premachandran

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