Jalaj Saxena

Born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Jalaj Saxena has been a huge name in the domestic circuit, ever since his debut in the 2007/08 season. Saxena is a right-hand batsman and an off-break bowler who has also represented India A. He currently plays for Kerala in domestic cricket and for the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.

Saxena broke into the Madhya Pradesh domestic side in 2005 after making his Ranji Trophy debut against Kerala. The right-hander scored 27 in his very first innings but went wicketless against Kerala.

Over the next few seasons, Saxena kept on piling runs and was equally potent with the ball for Madhya Pradesh. 

His best domestic campaign came in the 2012/13 season, where he amassed 769 runs at an average of 69.90 including two centuries. His excellent performance in the domestic circuit earned him an India A call-up to face the visiting Australian team in 2013. The off-spinner took 5 wickets and impressed everyone with his variety.

In the same year, Saxena continued his rich vein of form as the all-rounder scored 545 runs and also took 35 wickets at an impressive average of 19.00 in the Ranji Trophy season that year. 

His all-round abilities garnered interest from Mumbai Indians and he was roped in as a direct replacement for Lendl Simmons 

Saxena’s hard work was rewarded with the Lala Amarnath award for the best all-rounder in 2014, as he piled up 768 runs and also picked up 20 wickets for the Ranji Trophy season. 

The following year, he was bought by RCB for INR 10 lakh and after a string of poor performances for the franchise, he was released in 2018. 

Having played for his home state ever since his debut in 2005, Saxena switched to Kerala in 2016. 

Saxena was the leading wicket-taker in the 2017/18 Ranji Trophy season with 44 dismissals as Kerala was eliminated out of the tournament in the quarter-final stage.

During the IPL auction in February 2021, Saxena was roped in by Punjab Kings.

Cricket has always been an unforgiving sport. Despite consistently delivering for his domestic side, Saxena is yet to receive his maiden India call-up. Jalaj Saxena's story is the epitome of such instances. 

(As of March 2021)