S Badrinath, who retired in 2018, tried everything to cement his place in the Indian batting line up but failed because the Team India was already stacked with heavy batters. He was considered to be best-suited for first-class cricket but broke all the perceptions after his stint with Chennai Super Kings in cash-rich T20 League, IPL. The right-hand batsman was one of the leading run-scorers for the franchise in 2010 and 2011 seasons.
S Badrinath’s international career lasted for only 10 matches, including 2 Tests, 7 ODIs and one T20I. He failed to retain his place for the national team because of competition. The Tamil Nadu cricketer opined that he would have secured a place in the national team if he had converted himself in an allrounder.
“I tried everything within my reach. The batting order was really packed with Sachin, Rahul, Laxman, Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj,” Badrinath told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.
“But one thing that I may have done was focus a bit on my bowling. I could have aimed for that allrounder’s slot because I was a pretty decent offspinner and I’d taken some wickets.
I didn’t have help at the time: S Badrinath
Though the present Indian team has several options for the all-rounder position, earlier, there was dearth for such players. S Badrinath believes that he could have focused more on his bowling which would have helped him to get a longer rope with the team.
“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.”
Badrinath was a prolific batsman in first-class cricket, scoring over 10,000 runs in that longer format. He ended his IPL career with 1441 runs in 95 matches at an average of 30.65.