Badrinath
S. Badrinath, a right hand batsman and captain of Tamil Nadu has long been considered a potential middle order batsman for India. He has come up through junior cricket and has played for India A team. Originally considered more of a “Test” player than a “ODI” player, he has adapted his game for the shorter version of the game as well.
Here are his Ranji stats for the last 2 years –
Year | M | I | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
2006/07 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 436 | 136 | 48.44 | 1 | 3 |
2005/06 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 636 | 206* | 79.50 | 2 | 3 |
and his ODI stats –
Year | M | I | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
2006/07 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 278 | 120 | 55.60 | 87.69 | 1 | 1 |
2005/06 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 294 | 92 | 58.80 | 89.63 | – | 4 |
Clearly, his form has dipped this year compared to last season, but it is still a healthy 48.44 and 55.60 in the two versions of the game. As Sanjay proposed in his blog, India would do well to pick an experienced player as opposed to filling the side with 19 year olds. Badrinath is 26 years old and has the maturity and potential to absorb pressure at the international level.
Lets hope he makes the cut sooner than later..
(Also read Rediff’s feature on Badrinath and the articles Future Team Prospects I and II)
-Mahesh-