Raju never really got the name and fame he should have got in Test cricket. The statistics reflect that he was a modest performer with 93 wickets from 28 Tests with a career-best haul of six for 12 against Sri Lanka in Chandigarh in 1990. A bowling feat which he still recalls as his most satisfying haul. But it is an indisputable fact that Raju formed an important cog in the wheel of spin which contained the silent assassin Anil Kumble and Rajesh Chauhan in the famous game plan of the then Indian coach Ajit Wadekar.

This trio clearly enjoyed the privilege of bowling on spin friendly tracks. But, what stood apart in the brief Test span of Raju was his 20-wicket haul in the three-Test series against West Indies in 1993. A line-up which included the likes of Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper and Brian Lara. "That was a dream series for me. But again, I thought I was not given a consistent lease in Tests despite that performance," he regrets. Call it a combination of factors or fate, Raju was constantly in and out of the Indian team. Yet that he played in two World Cups in 1992 and 1996 besides 53 one-dayers with 63 wickets was itself a tribute to Raju's efficacy that he did figure in the scheme of things. What is most impressive about Raju was his fitness level. He did not gain even an extra kg in weight over the last 20 years or so.

The easy smooth short run-up and the quick roll of the arm over to tease the best of the batsmen was what made Raju earn a name for himself in the history of Indian cricket. An interesting sidelight in Raju's Test career is that his first wicket was New Zealander Martin Crowe and the last one was Australian Mark Waugh. Arguably two of the best stroke-makers of their time.

More importantly, Raju played his last Test in 2001 in Kolkata against the Steve Waugh-led Australians. A match where another Hyderabadi V. V. S. Laxman played the innings of his lifetime with an epic 281 which not only changed the course of the series but that of Indian cricket for the next 12 months to follow.