Looking forward to SA challenge, says Badrinath
Jan. 28: One of the longest waits in Indian cricket history could be over. After eleven hard and long seasons of toil on the domestic circuit and two years of being shunted in and out of the national squad, Tamil Nadu’s S. Badrinath is finally on the verge of earning his Test cap. The selection of Badri looked certain with both Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh ruled out due to injury.
It looks like Badri has remained in the fringes forever. There could be added pressure on the 29-year-old if and when he takes guard against South Africa. “Well, having waited for this long, I cannot let pressure get to me. I will have to make the most of the opportunity that comes my way,” said Badri who made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2008.Badri has 6,098 first-class runs to his name, few other batsmen in the world have made more runs at this level before going on to make their Test debut. “All these years of duration cricket has equipped me well. I have encountered a lot of difficult situations and also played in varied conditions. All I can hope for is that my experience would come in handy when I play against South Africa,” said Badri.
In 82 first-class games, Badri has made 22 hundreds. For a batsman who has a penchant for tall scores, many had observed that Badri should have made the cut long back. But Badri is in no mood to complain.
“I look at the positive side. It was never going to be easy to break in when the middle order is filled with names like Dravid, Laxman and Sachin. It was actually a privilege to see my name constantly doing the rounds even with these greats around,” explained Badri.
The IPL has provided Badri with some experience against South African bowlers.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge. I have played a few of their bowlers before. They possess one of the better new ball attacks in world cricket. I am excited and looking forward to the contest,” said Badri.
V. BALAJI
CHENNAI
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