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Enjoying the IPL ride
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Right-hander S. Badrinath has done Chennai Super Kings proud. How has he managed to transform his game? Read on
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PHOTO: M. VEDHAN
SIZZLING ON THE FIELD S. Badrinath
The transformation in Subramanium Badrinath has been remarkable. While his technique has largely remained the same, there has been a stunning shift in his mind-set.
He now seeks scoring opportunities, wants to create, innovates. The previously dour Badrinath sizzles these days.
The right-hander has been a revelation in the Indian Premier League. He has scored at the crunch and lived at the death. For the Chennai Super Kings, he has been a hero.
Says Badrinath, “I have always believed that technique is the base for everything. You can build on it.”
Changed mind-set
He then speaks about the difficult part – the mind. “It’s been very hard actually to change my mind-set. But I’ve worked on the mental aspect.”
Here was someone with tons of runs in domestic cricket, who constructed an innings brick by brick. Badrinath’s sound back-foot play also brought him success on the tour of Australia with the ‘A’ team.
Would he be a hit in the slam bang Twenty20 variety?
It essentially boiled down to confidence. Would he have the belief to execute his plans?
Reveals Badrinath, “I practised all kinds of shots at the nets and indoors, against the bowling machines. I played lofted shots over covers and point, the pull, the paddle shot over the short fine-leg. Even during my matches in the league, I sought to dominate the bowling. I gradually made the mental switch, on how I approached batting.”
In the IPL, Badrinath’s inside-out cover-drives have demanded attention. He has cut and pulled, also harnessed the pace on the ball.
He blitzed towards the end at Mohali with a cameo, secured a win off the last ball in Delhi, and played a match-winning knock against Kings XI Punjab in Chennai.
In between, he also dumped the last delivery of the innings, against the Delhi Daredevils at Chepauk, into the stands. This was a very different Badrinath we were witnessing.
“You have to take calculated risks in this format. Keep pushing yourself. You also need to know your strengths, know your boundary areas. You also to retain your intensity in a compressed format. The game can change in half-an-over,” he says.
Badrinath looks back on the tense game in Delhi. “Actually, I was pretty cool since we had levelled the scores before the last ball. The field was in and I had to go for a big one.”
The Tamil Nadu captain admits that the bowlers are getting better in the format. “After the initial phase, we are seeing more yorkers and slower balls from them. So the bowlers are getting the hang of Twenty20 cricket.”
He talks about the IPL. “It’s been tremendous. Without playing for the country, you are getting a taste of top-notch cricket.”
Actually, Badrinath came close to representing the country last year; he was drafted in the ODI squad but could not find a place in the eleven.
“My dream is to play for India. But I do not worry about things I cannot control. My job is to perform.”
Here he remembers the words of Super Kings team-mate Michael Hussey, a late starter himself in international cricket. “He told me to go out there and enjoy my cricket. And learn in whatever opportunities I get. He told me he did that during his long wait.”
Badrinath dwells on the “great spirit” within the Super Kings team, talks about Mkhaya Ntini’s pranks, Muttiah Muralitharan’s sense of humour — “he doesn’t make you feel like he has taken 700 odd Test wickets” — and skipper M.S. Dhoni’s cool captaincy. “Dhoni does not allow the pressure to get to the players,” he says.
He admits that there is more responsibility on the domestic cricketers in the Super Kings side after the departure of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey.
Badrinath relishes the challenge. And he is enjoying the IPL ride.
S. DINAKAR
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