Averaged 106 with bat, dismissed Kallis on debut; 18 months of being bedridden hurt India career, eye surgery ended it

A Ranji Trophy season with 1,280 runs at an average of 106.66 would ordinarily have been enough to define a domestic career. Four centuries, seven fifties and a record for the most runs in a single edition of the tournament at the time made it almost impossible for the national selectors to look elsewhere. Yet the batting numbers told only half the story.

When Karnataka reached the final against Madhya Pradesh, their leading run-scorer produced 86 in the first innings and another 75 in the second. Then, with the title slipping away on the final afternoon, he turned to his off-spin and took 6/24 to bowl Madhya Pradesh out for 150. Karnataka won by 96 runs. A season overflowing with runs had ended with their premier batter effectively winning the Ranji Trophy with the ball.

India came calling a few months later, and things became stranger still. In his first international tournament, the newcomer took 10 wickets at 12.20, returned three consecutive three-wicket hauls and scored 89 runs at an average of 89. By the end of four ODIs, he had been named Player of the Series.

This wasn't an all-rounder India had spent years grooming for the role. Vijay Bharadwaj considered himself primarily a specialist batter who happened to bowl useful off-spin. Yet his first taste of international cricket had produced the sort of beginning that should have opened the door to a long career. Instead, Bharadwaj played only 13 matches for India.

Long before that extraordinary international introduction, Bharadwaj had already established himself as far more than another member of Karnataka's golden generation. Rahul Dravid , Anil Kumble , Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi were among the players around him during a period when Karnataka dominated Indian domestic cricket, winning the Ranji Trophy three times in four seasons between 1995-96 and 1998-99.

Bharadwaj repeatedly made himself central to those triumphs. In the 1995-96 final against Tamil Nadu, he scored 146 as Karnataka piled up 620/8 declared and secured the title on first-innings lead. Two seasons later, his 122 against Uttar Pradesh came in another enormous Karnataka total of 617/9 declared, helping deliver another championship.

Then came 1998-99, the season that changed everything. Bharadwaj scored 1,280 runs from 15 innings, averaging 106.66. He finished 243 runs clear of Jacob Martin, the second-highest run-scorer that season, and registered four centuries and seven half-centuries. His highest was an unbeaten 200 against Kerala. He also contributed with the ball, taking 19 wickets at 22.10.

The final against Madhya Pradesh encapsulated just how complete his season had been. Karnataka conceded a 75-run first-innings lead despite Bharadwaj's 86. His 75 in the second innings helped Karnataka leave Madhya Pradesh 247 to win, but at 130/4 at tea on the final day, the chasing side still had every chance of surviving, if not winning. Bharadwaj changed that with his off-spin. Chandrakant Pandit fell soon after the interval, Raja Ali followed, and the collapse gathered pace. Bharadwaj eventually finished with 6/24 from 14.5 overs as Madhya Pradesh were dismissed for 150.