Who is Jalaj Saxena? Snubbed domestic veteran comes into focus after historic performance for Kerala

37-year-old Jalaj Saxena on Sunday created history in India’s domestic cricket. The veteran picked 9/68 which is the second-best bowling figure for Kerala. Amarjith Singh with 9/45 vs Andhra in 1971 is still the best for the state from down south.

For ardent cricket fans, Jalaj Saxena is a name that brings a mixture of sadness and anger. India’s selectors have time and again snubbed him for national duties despite his tall feats with the bat and ball.

Jalaj Saxena is a player who can open the innings as well as play in the middle order. With the ball, he has over 430 wickets in domestic cricket. So who is this Jalaj Saxena exactly? His career figures might leave you numbed.

Jalaj Saxena: India’s Greatest ‘What If’ Story

In a curious case of co-incidence, Jalaj Saxena made his domestic cricket debut for Madhya Pradesh against Kerala. His first game came in late 2005 just two days after he had turned 19 years old. Madhya Pradesh had a good mix of young players and experienced stars in their team. The likes of Abbas Ali and Devendra Bundela are domestic legends while Narendra Hirwani was a former India star. Naman Ojha was another player who was slowly rising through the ranks with the MP side. Jalaj Saxena scored 27 with the bat after being slotted in at number 8.

The next few years saw the rise of the talented youngster who showed promise with the bat and ball. It wasn’t long before Jalaj Saxena became a huge part of the Madhya Pradesh team with brimming talent. At a time when India was struggling to find a decent all-round talent, the selectors missed a trick. Irfan Pathan had started to stumble with his actions and had lost his pace and his place in the team. Yuvraj Singh after his ODI World Cup exploits in 2011 lost his way after his illness.

The cricketer from Indore kept going and piling on the runs and picking up wickets. Years of toil got him acclaim but sadly no selection to the blues was forthcoming. The closest he came to playing for the senior team was when he was part of the India A squad. After his impressive 2012 season where he scored 769 runs, a call-up to the India A team came about, during the tour match between Australia and the representative side, Saxena picked 5 wickets. One of his scalps included Usman Khawaja the Australian opener who is a very good player of spin. New Zealand also fell to the guile of Jalaj Saxena as he picked 6 for 103 against the touring side.

In 2016, Jalaj Saxena moved to Kerala and has played a huge role in their rise. What makes his situation even said is that he has played just one game in the IPL. During the 2021 season, Saxena played for PBKS vs Delhi Capitals. The veteran went wicketless and that was the end of his IPL stint as well.

Interestingly his older brother Jatin is also a cricketer and is currently playing in the Sri Lankan domestic circuit. In the twilight of his career, Jalaj Saxena will go down as the greatest ‘What if’ in Indian Cricket. With over 6600 runs in the longer format and 14 centuries, Jalaj Saxena will be a sad case study for future generations.