Balachandra Akhil

Balachandra Akhil is a useful allrounder - medium-pacer and middle-order bat - for Karnataka. He came into the spotlight in the Cooch Behar Trophy for the Under-19 side in 1995 before graduating in 1998 to the state senior side, where he has been a fixture since. Though he has a moderate record in first-class and List A games, he boasts a strike-rate hovering around 150 and enviable bowling figures in Twenty20s. That saw him picked for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League.

Cricinfo Staff April 2008