After making his debut for
Tamil Nadu during the
2001–02 Ranji Trophy, Balaji was selected for the
Indian national cricket team in 2002. He did not play another international match before his
test debut against
New Zealand in
October 2003 at
Ahmedabad. He took his first and only wicket in the match, which ended in a draw. In the next match of the series, he went wicket-less. In January 2004, he was part of the Indian team that played a
tri-series with
Australia and
Zimbabwe in
Australia. He played all the 10 matches and finished as the fourth highest wicket taker in the series with 13 wickets. Following his performance in Australia, he was selected for the
Indian team that toured
Pakistan in March–April 2004. He played in all the three test matches and finished as the second highest wicket taker with 12 wickets, leading India to a series victory. In the subsequent ODI series, which was also won by India, Balaji took six wickets in five matches. He was part of the Indian team that finished as runners-up in the
2004 Asia Cup but took just three wickets from four matches. He played two matches during the
Indian team, taking two wickets. He finished as the third highest wicket taker of the series which ended in a draw. In the subsequent ODI series, he took just three wickets in four matches, which resulted in an Indian defeat. Balaji made his return to cricket in 2007 and after a strong
2008-09 domestic season where helped Tamil Nadu reach the
Ranji Trophy semifinals, he was called up to the Indian ODI squad in January 2009. Balaji played the final match of the series against
Sri Lanka, which turned out to be final ODI match of his international career. But he did not play any matches in the series. Subsequently, he was selected in the Indian squad for the
2012 ICC World Twenty20. He played four matches in the tournament including his last international match against
South Africa. He took nine wickets to finish as the fourth highest wicket taker despite playing only four matches as India crashed out of the tournament in the group stage. ==Indian Premier League==