Badrinath : Twist of faith

[Feed]

He has the technique and the runs to prove it, but it's been an uphill climb, earning the trust of the men who mattered. Now, finally, things may be looking up for S Badrinath. More... Twist of faith S Badrinath has withstood the slings and arrows of fortune, and added to his game without shaking its base Nagraj Gollapudi September 8, 2008 In his first match, Badri saw India through a tricky chase © AFP When the selectors did not pick him for last month's ODI series in Sri Lanka, S Badrinath was in agony. "I was truly disappointed. I was devastated," he recalled of the day he sat in front of the TV along with his wife, expecting his name to flash on the screen. Numbness invaded him minutes later when he realised he wasn't in the side. The feeling was not alien for Badrinath, who had been there before; only, it was more intense this time. He had been sure his chance had come. So affected was he that he bared his emotions in public. "For God's sake, allow me to fail," he burst out in an interview, unable to understand what he needed to do to convince the five wise men on the national selection panel. Like in the past, the only pill for the pain was cricket. "That evening I turned up at the ground, did my training," he said. "I had to continue playing the game. I love playing this game and whatever I have in my hand I will do to the best of my ability." He found support from the likes of Sunil Gavaskar. "By saying what he did... he brought attention to the selectors' wandering minds that here was a player who had done no wrong and needed to be given a chance," Gavaskar wrote in one of his newspaper columns. Closer home, VB Chandrasekhar, the former national and Tamil Nadu selector, who first saw Badrinath as an upcoming youngster during his performances for Guru Nanak College in Chennai, knew where Badrinath was coming from. "He was pushed into a corner and he was left with no choice." Badrinath doesn't exactly have age on his side. He turned 28 on August 30. Athletes train all their life to be able to play at the top level, but as the years pass it gets difficult to keep the flame burning when the opportunities don't come along. It's even harder when, like in Badrinath's case, your contemporaries or those younger than you get the breaks ahead of you. As fate had it, Badrinath was called into the Indian squad as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar, who was injured. When he was last called up, during the ODI series at home against Australia in 2007, he didn't get a game. This time, though, he made his debut, in challenging conditions against Sri Lanka, and he let his bat do the talking, getting India out of a tight situation and forcing people to sit up and take notice. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is generally averse to hyperbole, so his words was high praise indeed: "He's very talented, and that's why he is here," Dhoni said. The man himself was modest about his contribution in his debut game. "I felt really good to be involved so much. I wasn't actually under any sort of pressure. I was quietly confident about myself," Badrinath said. "There is always uncertainty in sport. It is all about taking it as it comes and grabbing the opportunity and doing the job and being a good professional." Your story, my story During the IPL, Badrinath had the opportunity to spend time with an individual who had walked a similar path. As he approached the age of 30, with no sign that he would ever make it into the Australian line-up, Michael Hussey had reason to think he was going nowhere fast. He grew frustrated and distracted and his domestic cricket suffered as a result. But after a period of introspection where he made up his mind about exactly what he wanted, Hussey gathered himself together and started enjoying his game again, and eventually played his maiden Test. Badrinath developed a strong acquaintance with Hussey in the Chennai Super Kings dressing room and soaked up all the lessons born of experience on offer. "The way they [the Australians] prepare themselves, the amount of dedication they show, the amount of professionalism they have, is totally different," Badrinath said during our first meeting, in Mumbai during the IPL. "I learnt a lot from [Matthew] Hayden and Hussey. I spoke to Hussey a lot, because I was amazed that he made his debut at 30. He helped me a lot." Hearing from Hussey that he was a good player capable of doing a good job made a world of difference to Badrinath's confidence. "That inspired me, that a player of that class had faith in me and confidence in me. It does matter when someone compliments you or praises you or shows belief in you," Badrinath said. He justified that faith, producing important cameos for the Super Kings, batting in various positions, on their way to the runner-up spot. Importantly, he switched gears depending on the situation and the role he was asked to fulfill. Mostly he batted in the middle- and lower-middle order, so his job was that of a hustler or a finisher - which only the experienced or the gifted manage to accomplish consistently. In the very first game, where Hussey cracked a stupendous 115 not out, Badrinath adjusted quickly, coming in at No. 7 and giving strong support to the Australian with a patient 31 not out. In the middle stages of the tournament, where the Super Kings proved tentative, he calmed nerves more than once, most memorably in the last-ball thriller against Delhi. When he was promoted up the order after Hayden and Hussey had left on international duty, he made two consecutive half-centuries. Chandrasekhar remembered how eyes rolled when he recommended Badrinath as one of the first recruits for the Super Kings. "People wondered why I was picking a grafter for Twenty20. But I felt particularly good when he went out and won matches for us. Finishing ability is what makes a good cricketer." Technique plus temperament equals versatility There is nothing imposing about Badrinath in person or physically as a batsman. He is lean, not built to be a big-hitter. His strengths lie elsewhere. "He has a wonderful temperament," Chandrasekhar said, "not something you associate often with Tamil Nadu cricketers. He transformed from a dour batsman to somebody who was willing to be more creative and allow himself to play shots which were within his framework." Badrinath himself testified as much. "I've been trying to be more innovative and trying to work out a plan around my game that fits within my scheme of things," he said, when asked if he had changed his technique. "In my domestic cricket I've become more aggressive and that has given me more confidence and I've started to believe I can make a difference." He is a player in the mould of Rahul Dravid, who is still perhaps the most technically accomplished batsman in contemporary cricket. "Technique is my base and once the base is strong it is easy to work around. Now I'm playing more shots all around the park. I was a dominant batsman on the off side; I've now become strong on both sides of the wicket," Badrinath said. Even if he does not say much about his expectations of a spot in the Test team in light of the anticipated upcoming middle-order vacancies, his supporters believe he has earned the right to stake his claim by virtue of having toiled for years on the unattractive domestic circuit. After a slow start, following which he was dropped in his second domestic season, Badrinath returned more determined, and soon began to reap rewards. Not a one-dimensional player, even in the longer form © Cricinfo Ltd A regular in the A team, Badrinath has been piling up big scores against various oppositions home and away. He has four unbeaten hundreds in his last four appearances for India A, including a double-century against South Africa A in 2007. In the 2007-08 domestic season he scored 990 runs at an average of 66 in 12 matches. Recently, in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia last July, he led from the front, cracking 95 and 83 not out. WV Raman, Tamil Nadu's coach for the last two seasons, wishes people would stop looking at Badrinath as a one-dimensional player fit only for the longer form of the game. By doing well in the IPL, Badrinath has demonstrated that he can play the shorter version, Raman said. "Not the other way round. People maintain that he is a duration game player, but if someone saw him against the South Africa A team last year he would see how he changed as a batsman." Over the years Badrinath stood by and watched as the likes of Gautam Gambhir, and even younger players such as Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, got called up into the national squads. He looked doomed to be the good guy who finished last. Now that his chance seems to have arrived, he wants to enjoy the moment. In Dambulla he walked in with India at a precarious 75 for 5 chasing 143. It was left to him and Dhoni to hang around and make sure the job was done. From ball one he stuck to his captain's brief of keeping it simple. "Dhoni was giving me small tips on how to go about my batting and how to play the likes of [Ajantha] Mendis," Badrinath said. Working the singles and twos, the pair brought India to the brink of victory. When eight were needed Dhoni was out, and Harbhajan Singh fell quickly soon after. All it would have taken to knock India out cold were three unplayable deliveries from the dangerous Sri Lankan spinners. But Badrinath stayed calm and stuck to his strategy of nudging and steering the ball around, using his wrists to find the gaps for singles. The winning run duly came off a push to extra-cover. "It is mentally that I've improved," Badrinath said. "Once the player starts to believe he can do it and it starts to happen his confidence level goes up."

[Dinx - the Jinx]

S Badrinath has withstood the slings and arrows of fortune, and added to his game without shaking its base Nagraj Gollapudi September 8, 2008 In his first match, Badri saw India through a tricky chase © AFP When the selectors did not pick him for last month's ODI series in Sri Lanka, S Badrinath was in agony. "I was truly disappointed. I was devastated," he recalled of the day he sat in front of the TV along with his wife, expecting his name to flash on the screen. Numbness invaded him minutes later when he realised he wasn't in the side. The feeling was not alien for Badrinath, who had been there before; only, it was more intense this time. He had been sure his chance had come. So affected was he that he bared his emotions in public. "For God's sake, allow me to fail," he burst out in an interview, unable to understand what he needed to do to convince the five wise men on the national selection panel. Like in the past, the only pill for the pain was cricket. "That evening I turned up at the ground, did my training," he said. "I had to continue playing the game. I love playing this game and whatever I have in my hand I will do to the best of my ability." He found support from the likes of Sunil Gavaskar. "By saying what he did... he brought attention to the selectors' wandering minds that here was a player who had done no wrong and needed to be given a chance," Gavaskar wrote in one of his newspaper columns. Closer home, VB Chandrasekhar, the former national and Tamil Nadu selector, who first saw Badrinath as an upcoming youngster during his performances for Guru Nanak College in Chennai, knew where Badrinath was coming from. "He was pushed into a corner and he was left with no choice." Badrinath doesn't exactly have age on his side. He turned 28 on August 30. Athletes train all their life to be able to play at the top level, but as the years pass it gets difficult to keep the flame burning when the opportunities don't come along. It's even harder when, like in Badrinath's case, your contemporaries or those younger than you get the breaks ahead of you. As fate had it, Badrinath was called into the Indian squad as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar, who was injured. When he was last called up, during the ODI series at home against Australia in 2007, he didn't get a game. This time, though, he made his debut, in challenging conditions against Sri Lanka, and he let his bat do the talking, getting India out of a tight situation and forcing people to sit up and take notice. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is generally averse to hyperbole, so his words was high praise indeed: "He's very talented, and that's why he is here," Dhoni said. The man himself was modest about his contribution in his debut game. "I felt really good to be involved so much. I wasn't actually under any sort of pressure. I was quietly confident about myself," Badrinath said. "There is always uncertainty in sport. It is all about taking it as it comes and grabbing the opportunity and doing the job and being a good professional." Your story, my story During the IPL, Badrinath had the opportunity to spend time with an individual who had walked a similar path. As he approached the age of 30, with no sign that he would ever make it into the Australian line-up, Michael Hussey had reason to think he was going nowhere fast. He grew frustrated and distracted and his domestic cricket suffered as a result. But after a period of introspection where he made up his mind about exactly what he wanted, Hussey gathered himself together and started enjoying his game again, and eventually played his maiden Test. Badrinath developed a strong acquaintance with Hussey in the Chennai Super Kings dressing room and soaked up all the lessons born of experience on offer. "The way they [the Australians] prepare themselves, the amount of dedication they show, the amount of professionalism they have, is totally different," Badrinath said during our first meeting, in Mumbai during the IPL. "I learnt a lot from [Matthew] Hayden and Hussey. I spoke to Hussey a lot, because I was amazed that he made his debut at 30. He helped me a lot." Hearing from Hussey that he was a good player capable of doing a good job made a world of difference to Badrinath's confidence. "That inspired me, that a player of that class had faith in me and confidence in me. It does matter when someone compliments you or praises you or shows belief in you," Badrinath said. Hearing from Hussey that I was a good player capable of doing a good job inspired me, that a player of that class had faith in me and confidence in me He justified that faith, producing important cameos for the Super Kings, batting in various positions, on their way to the runner-up spot. Importantly, he switched gears depending on the situation and the role he was asked to fulfill. Mostly he batted in the middle- and lower-middle order, so his job was that of a hustler or a finisher - which only the experienced or the gifted manage to accomplish consistently. In the very first game, where Hussey cracked a stupendous 115 not out, Badrinath adjusted quickly, coming in at No. 7 and giving strong support to the Australian with a patient 31 not out. In the middle stages of the tournament, where the Super Kings proved tentative, he calmed nerves more than once, most memorably in the last-ball thriller against Delhi. When he was promoted up the order after Hayden and Hussey had left on international duty, he made two consecutive half-centuries. Chandrasekhar remembered how eyes rolled when he recommended Badrinath as one of the first recruits for the Super Kings. "People wondered why I was picking a grafter for Twenty20. But I felt particularly good when he went out and won matches for us. Finishing ability is what makes a good cricketer." Technique plus temperament equals versatility There is nothing imposing about Badrinath in person or physically as a batsman. He is lean, not built to be a big-hitter. His strengths lie elsewhere. "He has a wonderful temperament," Chandrasekhar said, "not something you associate often with Tamil Nadu cricketers. He transformed from a dour batsman to somebody who was willing to be more creative and allow himself to play shots which were within his framework." Badrinath himself testified as much. "I've been trying to be more innovative and trying to work out a plan around my game that fits within my scheme of things," he said, when asked if he had changed his technique. "In my domestic cricket I've become more aggressive and that has given me more confidence and I've started to believe I can make a difference." He is a player in the mould of Rahul Dravid, who is still perhaps the most technically accomplished batsman in contemporary cricket. "Technique is my base and once the base is strong it is easy to work around. Now I'm playing more shots all around the park. I was a dominant batsman on the off side; I've now become strong on both sides of the wicket," Badrinath said. Even if he does not say much about his expectations of a spot in the Test team in light of the anticipated upcoming middle-order vacancies, his supporters believe he has earned the right to stake his claim by virtue of having toiled for years on the unattractive domestic circuit. After a slow start, following which he was dropped in his second domestic season, Badrinath returned more determined, and soon began to reap rewards. Not a one-dimensional player, even in the longer form © Cricinfo Ltd A regular in the A team, Badrinath has been piling up big scores against various oppositions home and away. He has four unbeaten hundreds in his last four appearances for India A, including a double-century against South Africa A in 2007. In the 2007-08 domestic season he scored 990 runs at an average of 66 in 12 matches. Recently, in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia last July, he led from the front, cracking 95 and 83 not out. WV Raman, Tamil Nadu's coach for the last two seasons, wishes people would stop looking at Badrinath as a one-dimensional player fit only for the longer form of the game. By doing well in the IPL, Badrinath has demonstrated that he can play the shorter version, Raman said. "Not the other way round. People maintain that he is a duration game player, but if someone saw him against the South Africa A team last year he would see how he changed as a batsman." Over the years Badrinath stood by and watched as the likes of Gautam Gambhir, and even younger players such as Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, got called up into the national squads. He looked doomed to be the good guy who finished last. Now that his chance seems to have arrived, he wants to enjoy the moment. In Dambulla he walked in with India at a precarious 75 for 5 chasing 143. It was left to him and Dhoni to hang around and make sure the job was done. From ball one he stuck to his captain's brief of keeping it simple. "Dhoni was giving me small tips on how to go about my batting and how to play the likes of [Ajantha] Mendis," Badrinath said. Working the singles and twos, the pair brought India to the brink of victory. When eight were needed Dhoni was out, and Harbhajan Singh fell quickly soon after. All it would have taken to knock India out cold were three unplayable deliveries from the dangerous Sri Lankan spinners. But Badrinath stayed calm and stuck to his strategy of nudging and steering the ball around, using his wrists to find the gaps for singles. The winning run duly came off a push to extra-cover. "It is mentally that I've improved," Badrinath said. "Once the player starts to believe he can do it and it starts to happen his confidence level goes up." Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

There is a thread elsewhere about Sadanand Vishwanath and we all know what happened with Sivaramakrishnan... I hope Badri's case doesnt become one of those... how long can a guy go on like this, being overlooked all the time... Badri - please make a big hundred in the Hyd match against Aus A and selectors ko majboor kar do, tumhe pick karne.

[flamy]

Badri didnt help himself recently, but it is damn unfair for him to be expected to perform with the axe over his head like that. You should have a sense of belonging when ur playing for your country, he is being made feel like an outcast. Sad.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

are we made to believe that flopping in just one innings against aus a is the reason for his ommission?

[flamy]

Yesh sir :((

[fineleg]

Yesh sir :((

yep :((

[satishg]

are we made to believe that flopping in just one innings against aus a is the reason for his ommission?

when u know that things are not coming ur way easily then u have to make each and every chance count..Badri din do so by getting a duck in the last match..v all know that he doesn have the backing but then he must have got runs..so no use in cribbing abt Badri not being selected..he had a golden chance and he missed it..thats how life is for some..and i guess Badri knows this very well and he will be more determined to make it to the squad next time..

[Dinx - the Jinx]

tats not fair... wat if kaif flops in the second test against aus a and badri scores a big hundred? will things change for badri for good?

[satishg]

tats not fair... wat if kaif flops in the second test against aus a and badri scores a big hundred? will things change for badri for good?

they havent yet announced the squad for the first test..so if he does score a big hundred then he wud have a gud chance of getting selected..selectors have gone with performances and Kaif has been pretty consistent and he scored 94 wen it mattered..so yes he deserved to make it in the ROI squad..btw this is jus the ROI squad not the national one..so lets see

[zubinpepsi]

I think He will eventually replace Dravid.. and they r trying kaif in place of Ganguly. so my guess is the replacements r based on the batsman they r replacing.. Worst case, Badri will play for India in tests... unless otherwise dhoni maama has some other plans.. :-p

[jf1gp_1]

tats not fair... wat if kaif flops in the second test against aus a and badri scores a big hundred? will things change for badri for good?

Dont know about Kaif but whatever little i have seen of Badri i think he is going to struggle against aussie fast bowlers. Having said that i am hoping he gets a nice score tomorrow, we really need men fighting for those test slots which are going to open up soon.

[Shane]

He has the technique and the runs to prove it, but it's been an uphill climb, earning the trust of the men who mattered. Now, finally, things may be looking up for S Badrinath. More... Twist of faith S Badrinath has withstood the slings and arrows of fortune, and added to his game without shaking its base Nagraj Gollapudi September 8, 2008 In his first match, Badri saw India through a tricky chase © AFP When the selectors did not pick him for last month's ODI series in Sri Lanka, S Badrinath was in agony. "I was truly disappointed. I was devastated," he recalled of the day he sat in front of the TV along with his wife, expecting his name to flash on the screen. Numbness invaded him minutes later when he realised he wasn't in the side. The feeling was not alien for Badrinath, who had been there before; only, it was more intense this time. He had been sure his chance had come. So affected was he that he bared his emotions in public. "For God's sake, allow me to fail," he burst out in an interview, unable to understand what he needed to do to convince the five wise men on the national selection panel. Like in the past, the only pill for the pain was cricket. "That evening I turned up at the ground, did my training," he said. "I had to continue playing the game. I love playing this game and whatever I have in my hand I will do to the best of my ability." He found support from the likes of Sunil Gavaskar. "By saying what he did... he brought attention to the selectors' wandering minds that here was a player who had done no wrong and needed to be given a chance," Gavaskar wrote in one of his newspaper columns. Closer home, VB Chandrasekhar, the former national and Tamil Nadu selector, who first saw Badrinath as an upcoming youngster during his performances for Guru Nanak College in Chennai, knew where Badrinath was coming from. "He was pushed into a corner and he was left with no choice." Badrinath doesn't exactly have age on his side. He turned 28 on August 30. Athletes train all their life to be able to play at the top level, but as the years pass it gets difficult to keep the flame burning when the opportunities don't come along. It's even harder when, like in Badrinath's case, your contemporaries or those younger than you get the breaks ahead of you. As fate had it, Badrinath was called into the Indian squad as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar, who was injured. When he was last called up, during the ODI series at home against Australia in 2007, he didn't get a game. This time, though, he made his debut, in challenging conditions against Sri Lanka, and he let his bat do the talking, getting India out of a tight situation and forcing people to sit up and take notice. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is generally averse to hyperbole, so his words was high praise indeed: "He's very talented, and that's why he is here," Dhoni said. The man himself was modest about his contribution in his debut game. "I felt really good to be involved so much. I wasn't actually under any sort of pressure. I was quietly confident about myself," Badrinath said. "There is always uncertainty in sport. It is all about taking it as it comes and grabbing the opportunity and doing the job and being a good professional." Your story, my story During the IPL, Badrinath had the opportunity to spend time with an individual who had walked a similar path. As he approached the age of 30, with no sign that he would ever make it into the Australian line-up, Michael Hussey had reason to think he was going nowhere fast. He grew frustrated and distracted and his domestic cricket suffered as a result. But after a period of introspection where he made up his mind about exactly what he wanted, Hussey gathered himself together and started enjoying his game again, and eventually played his maiden Test. Badrinath developed a strong acquaintance with Hussey in the Chennai Super Kings dressing room and soaked up all the lessons born of experience on offer. "The way they [the Australians] prepare themselves, the amount of dedication they show, the amount of professionalism they have, is totally different," Badrinath said during our first meeting, in Mumbai during the IPL. "I learnt a lot from [Matthew] Hayden and Hussey. I spoke to Hussey a lot, because I was amazed that he made his debut at 30. He helped me a lot." Hearing from Hussey that he was a good player capable of doing a good job made a world of difference to Badrinath's confidence. "That inspired me, that a player of that class had faith in me and confidence in me. It does matter when someone compliments you or praises you or shows belief in you," Badrinath said. He justified that faith, producing important cameos for the Super Kings, batting in various positions, on their way to the runner-up spot. Importantly, he switched gears depending on the situation and the role he was asked to fulfill. Mostly he batted in the middle- and lower-middle order, so his job was that of a hustler or a finisher - which only the experienced or the gifted manage to accomplish consistently. In the very first game, where Hussey cracked a stupendous 115 not out, Badrinath adjusted quickly, coming in at No. 7 and giving strong support to the Australian with a patient 31 not out. In the middle stages of the tournament, where the Super Kings proved tentative, he calmed nerves more than once, most memorably in the last-ball thriller against Delhi. When he was promoted up the order after Hayden and Hussey had left on international duty, he made two consecutive half-centuries. Chandrasekhar remembered how eyes rolled when he recommended Badrinath as one of the first recruits for the Super Kings. "People wondered why I was picking a grafter for Twenty20. But I felt particularly good when he went out and won matches for us. Finishing ability is what makes a good cricketer." Technique plus temperament equals versatility There is nothing imposing about Badrinath in person or physically as a batsman. He is lean, not built to be a big-hitter. His strengths lie elsewhere. "He has a wonderful temperament," Chandrasekhar said, "not something you associate often with Tamil Nadu cricketers. He transformed from a dour batsman to somebody who was willing to be more creative and allow himself to play shots which were within his framework." Badrinath himself testified as much. "I've been trying to be more innovative and trying to work out a plan around my game that fits within my scheme of things," he said, when asked if he had changed his technique. "In my domestic cricket I've become more aggressive and that has given me more confidence and I've started to believe I can make a difference." He is a player in the mould of Rahul Dravid, who is still perhaps the most technically accomplished batsman in contemporary cricket. "Technique is my base and once the base is strong it is easy to work around. Now I'm playing more shots all around the park. I was a dominant batsman on the off side; I've now become strong on both sides of the wicket," Badrinath said. Even if he does not say much about his expectations of a spot in the Test team in light of the anticipated upcoming middle-order vacancies, his supporters believe he has earned the right to stake his claim by virtue of having toiled for years on the unattractive domestic circuit. After a slow start, following which he was dropped in his second domestic season, Badrinath returned more determined, and soon began to reap rewards. Not a one-dimensional player, even in the longer form © Cricinfo Ltd A regular in the A team, Badrinath has been piling up big scores against various oppositions home and away. He has four unbeaten hundreds in his last four appearances for India A, including a double-century against South Africa A in 2007. In the 2007-08 domestic season he scored 990 runs at an average of 66 in 12 matches. Recently, in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia last July, he led from the front, cracking 95 and 83 not out. WV Raman, Tamil Nadu's coach for the last two seasons, wishes people would stop looking at Badrinath as a one-dimensional player fit only for the longer form of the game. By doing well in the IPL, Badrinath has demonstrated that he can play the shorter version, Raman said. "Not the other way round. People maintain that he is a duration game player, but if someone saw him against the South Africa A team last year he would see how he changed as a batsman." Over the years Badrinath stood by and watched as the likes of Gautam Gambhir, and even younger players such as Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, got called up into the national squads. He looked doomed to be the good guy who finished last. Now that his chance seems to have arrived, he wants to enjoy the moment. In Dambulla he walked in with India at a precarious 75 for 5 chasing 143. It was left to him and Dhoni to hang around and make sure the job was done. From ball one he stuck to his captain's brief of keeping it simple. "Dhoni was giving me small tips on how to go about my batting and how to play the likes of [Ajantha] Mendis," Badrinath said. Working the singles and twos, the pair brought India to the brink of victory. When eight were needed Dhoni was out, and Harbhajan Singh fell quickly soon after. All it would have taken to knock India out cold were three unplayable deliveries from the dangerous Sri Lankan spinners. But Badrinath stayed calm and stuck to his strategy of nudging and steering the ball around, using his wrists to find the gaps for singles. The winning run duly came off a push to extra-cover. "It is mentally that I've improved," Badrinath said. "Once the player starts to believe he can do it and it starts to happen his confidence level goes up."

I hope he is picked next time around, really sad to see him dropped

[Cricketics]

Gavaskar's article over the handling of Badrinath pretty well written by Gavaskar. it's 3 weeks old, still i think it's worth reading. he states some good and correct things. http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=9940&ntid=4 S Badrinath gets his chance and he doesn't fail - Sunil Gavaskar Column by DreamCricket USA Aug 23, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subramaniam Badrinath gets his chance. And he doesn't fail. Sunil Gavaskar Times they have certainly changed. Not so long ago any player expressing disappointment at being left out of a team would probably never ever be selected for his temerity in going public. This however is a new age and a new era and unless you are 'in the face' as the popular saying goes, you are not going to get noticed. There are other benefits too apart from being seen and that can be in the endorsement business as today's advertisers are looking for those already in the public eye, be it for performance or controversy. Subramaniam Badrinath is not one for controversy but for performance and from what little has been seen of him at the domestic level as also the Indian Premier League, he is thankfully no 'show boater' either. There is not the slightest doubt that had he not expressed his bafflement at being continually ignored for national selection and not being told what he needs to do by any selector, he would not have been picked as a replacement for Virender Sehwag. By saying what he did immediately after the one-day team to Sri Lanka was announced he brought attention to the selectors wandering minds that here was a player who had done no wrong and needed to be given a chance, or as Badri himself put it, given a chance to fail. Make no mistake, if he had not given that interview the selectors would have turned to Dinesh Karthik, or the perennial standby Mohammad Kaif, to take the place of the injured Sehwag. Luckily Badrinath is still on the right side of the 20s in a youth obsessed country where performing at the under-19 level without any corresponding deeds at the domestic level, can propel a player straight to the national team. Yes, one can understand an under-19 quick bowler being pitch-forked into the international pit because he has the strength, stamina and energy and is largely injury free, but batsmen unless it is a once in a century player like Sachin Tendulkar, need a lot more time to mature and be able to face the pressures and tensions of international cricket. It is because of this awareness of a national call up being round the corner after a performance at the under-19 tournaments that one finds that ages are not always what the certificates say at that level. By speaking out Badrinath did force the selectors to pick him as a replacement and in his first game he showed just why, by keeping his cool along with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and taking India to a win after the earlier batsmen had tottered. Even here he was batting at number 7 where batsmen hardly get the opportunity to get big scores and are dumped when they sacrifice their wickets in throwing their bats in the slog overs. In dropping these lower order batsmen the selectors point to their scores seldom taking into account the circumstances in which they had sacrificed their wickets. Badrinath probably learnt from the fate that befell previous Tamil Nadu players like S. Ramesh and S. Sriram who despite scoring thousands of runs at the domestic level and then doing well in the limited chances that they got at the international level, were dropped on some pretext or the other. Why, Sriram was even dropped for the next series after having been chosen Man of the Match in the previous one-day series in Bangladesh. Ramesh was never understood by the management and was seen as a goofy character lost in his own world, never mind the fact that with the bat he still delivered and also plucked some extraordinary catches in the close-in position. Past skippers including yours truly were often accused of favouring players from their state or zone in the national team but no captain is foolish enough to cut his own feet by going for players from his state or zone and upsetting the balance of the team. The only reason he goes for them is because he has seen more of them and knows how they react to pressure than players from other zones he hasn't seen enough of. In the past decade or so the captains seem keen to get an image of being unbiased by not plumping for deserving players from their state and zones for the national teams. Badrinath's skipper for the Chennai Super Kings is Dhoni, and while he has now said after Badrinath showed not just batting skills but good temperament as well in his debut game that "he is a good player", did he discuss him at the selection meeting? Of course captains have had no vote in selection ever and are only co-opted to get their view on combination etc. In trying to keep an image of being unbiased, are captains not doing justice to players from their own states and zones? Then the best thing to do is to follow the Australian method of selection and not have the skipper as part of the selection group. By all means seek his views as also that of the coach but let the selectors then go into the meeting and pick the team. This way the skipper is not involved in picking or dropping any player and can go ahead and do the job with the players given to him. Badrinath has got in but don't be surprised if at the first failure he is left in the lurch while other failures get more chances to fail.

[Ram]

This is probably the first Gavaskar article in a long time that I actually appreciate. For a change, it isnt full of Anti-Australian rants. Sunny makes a lot of good points, foremost being how the selectors in general being obsessed with catapulting Under-19, early 20s starts into the national team, rather than dour, consistent run-getters who are a touch older. This mindset needs to go. The good news for Badrinath is that most of the current test middle order wont last for more than 12-15 months more, AT BEST.. So, even if he doesnt find a place in the national squad in the coming months, he must keep performing at every given chance, to make sure he doesnt fade from public and more importantly, the selector's memory. Its rather surprising that Badri has gotten very sympathetic press from most of the mainstream cricketing media, especially after his outburst at not being picked for the SL ODIs. Its not often that player gets such a groundswell of support from varied sections of cricketing fraternity. He must use this to his advantage to further push his case.

[Feed]

Badrinath hopes to break into the Test squad More... Badrinath hopes to break into the Test squad Monday, September 22, 2008 Kolkata (PTI): Drafted into the Rest of India side for the Irani Trophy match in place of injured Sachin Tendulkar, hardworking Subramaniam Badrinath reckons a great opportunity coming his way to make it to the Test squad with a good knock against Ranji champions Delhi. Badrinath, who was captaining India A in a triangular series involving A sides of Australia and New Zealand before his inclusion in the Rest team, is itching to go out in the middle at Vadodara. "Maybe the time has come for me now. It's a great feeling ... Tremendous to know that I'll play for the Rest. I would like to make use of this opportunity; a good knock means chance to make the Test squad against Australia," said the Tamil Nadu batsman who scored a match-winning 69 not out against New Zealand A on Wednesday. "I can't ask for more, if I make a debut against the world champions," Badrinath told PTI from Chennai in an interview. Shrugging off the notion that luck plays a role in a cricketer's career, Badrinath says he believes in hardwork. "I am not somebody, who is a firm believer in luck. I believe in hardwork and wait for the right opportunity. The incidents in the past (of coming so close to selection but not making it) have made me strong mentally," he said. True for somebody with a first-class average of 55.92 and 40-plus in List A matches -- only Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, among batsmen still active and with at least 50 innings, have a higher First Class average -- but yet been ignored in the last three years.

[fineleg]

I would like to make use of this opportunity; a good knock means chance to make the Test squad against Australia," said the Tamil Nadu batsman who scored a match-winning 69 not out against New Zealand A on Wednesday. .

Grab it with both hands - you wont get too many opportunities. If you miss this, then you have no one to blame.

[Desi Cartman]

I think he is talking too much ..............

[satishg]

lol Badri has been in the news for one reason or the other..i hope he performs well in in the irani match and leave the selection matters alone..its time to back ur words Mr.Badrinath..all the best

[SachDan]

I think he is talking too much ..............

second that..its time for his bat to do the talking at high level cricket.

[diegovegaz]

he'll do well in the z.r.irani cup, and will break into the indian playing 11