‘I tried everything within my reach’ – S Badrinath on his struggles to cement his spot in Team India

S. Badrinath has donned Team India’s jersey in all the three formats after making his debut against Sri Lanka back in August 2008. However, he could only play 10 matches, combining Test, ODI and T20I cricket and last played for them back in the 2011 tour of the West Indies. Despite being a mainstay of Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, he was unable to shape his career for the Indian team.

Recalling his hardships, the now 39-year-old said that he tried his heart out to stake his claim back into the national setup. However, the veteran understood that it won’t be easy for him to find a spot since India had stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh in their lineup.

I also didn’t have help at the time, says S. Badrinath

“I tried everything within my reach. The batting order was really packed with Sachin, Rahul, Laxman, Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj. But one thing that I may have done was focus a bit on my bowling. I could have aimed for that all-rounder’s slot because I was a pretty decent off-spinner and I’d taken some wickets,” Badrinath was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times.

Badrinath said that he could have even contributed as a spinner in the hour of need. “I also didn’t have help at the time. Rather than focussing entirely on my batting, I could have fitted as an all-rounder – batting at No. 6 or 7, be a third spinning option. Batting wise, I couldn’t have done anything more. I did my best,” he stated.

In his first-class, List A and T20 career, Badrinath scored 10,245, 4,164 and 2,300 runs respectively with 38 centuries and 86 half-centuries. Back in August 2018, the right-hander retired from all forms of cricket and is currently plying his trade in commentary.

Badrinath also reckons that in T20 cricket, one doesn’t necessarily need to go for the ambitious shots. Rather, he said that classical strokes can also help batters score runs. He put forth New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Australia’s Michael Hussey to back his comments.

“The prime example today is Kane Williamson. You see he is a proper batsman but he’s equally good in T20s. Same was with Michael Hussey,” Badrinath added.