Could have improved my off-spin to aim for all-rounder’s slot in Indian cricket, opines S Badrinath
After his attempt to fetch himself a place with his batting display, Subramaniam Badrinath has opined that he could have had a better chance of making it to the Indian team had he improved his off-spin. However, he admitted that he tried his level best with the bat to get Indian team with no avail.
Despite scoring 10,245 runs on the domestic circuit at an average of 54.49, Badrinath never really got himself a good look into the Indian Test setup, owing to the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. However, he did get himself a couple of chances against South Africa, where he scored 63 runs, including a high-score of 56. Eventually, he was succeeded by a young Virat Kohli, who on the back of his proper batting technique and charismatic performances earned himself a long-standing place in the Test setup.
Whilst believing that he did his absolute best with the bat, Badrinath rues his decision of not improving his off-spinners. The former Tamil Nadu batsman admitted that he could have aimed for the all-rounder’s slot after he worked on his spin-bowling.
“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 allrounder’s slot because I was a pretty decent offspinner and I’d taken some wickets,” Badrinath told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.
During his stint with Tamil Nadu in the first-class scene, Badrinath managed to get 226 overs under his belt, where he picked up 14 wickets, including a best of 2/19. However, apart from that, his bowling was never a sparkling factor in his long and illustrious domestic career.
“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.”
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