Raju is here to hone the skills of Nepali spinners for the upcoming ICC World Cricket League Division 2 tournament to be held in Namibia from January 17-24.

Along with Raju, former Sri Lankan fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake–also an ACC Development Officer–will assist Nepali cricketers for the all-important Division 2 tournament.

Raju said he is quite familiar with Nepali bowling and would like to see more of them during his week-long stay in Nepal. “I have seen Nepali cricketers bowl in Sri Lanka during their preparation camp for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers. There are world class spinners,” said Raju who played for India in the 1992 and 1996 World Cups.

Raju and Ratnayake are here as a part of the ACC High Performance Programme. “Me and Rumesh will now remain here for few days and assist the Nepali cricketers to shape themselves up for the Division 2 tournament. We want Nepal to climb above the Division 2 and qualify for future ICC tournaments,” added Raju. The Division 2 tournament will send the top two teams into the ICC World Cricket League Championship and ICC Intercontinental Cup.

Raju is the first renowned Indian international to give specialized coaching to Nepali cricketers although a lot of prominent Indian players have come to Nepal. Once a leading spinner of India during the 1990s, Raju played 28 Tests for India picking up 93 wickets with his best figures of 6-12 coming against Sri Lanka. He has 63 wickets under his belt from 53 one-day internationals for India.