S Badrinath to refrain from playing first-class cricket this year

Tamil Nadu cricketer S Badrinath is an eminent name when it comes to Indian domestic cricketing circles. However, he has decided “not to play” the upcoming first-class season. He recently announced his decision, while also clarifying that he’s not thinking about retiring at the moment. Badrinath had captained the Hyderabad side in first-class cricket last season.

The 36-year-old batsman has 32 hundreds and 45 fifties in 145 first-class matches at an average of 54.49 to his credit.  A run-hungry S Badrinath had been the mainstay of the Tamil Nadu batting for 14 years since the mid-2000s and also captained them. During the 2014-2015 Ranji Trophy season, he shifted his allegiance to Vidarbha and two seasons later, then moved on to Hyderabad. Badrinath has played 95 matches for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and two Tests, seven ODIs and one T20I match for India.

S Badrinath is ‘taking one thing at a time’

Talking about his decision, Badrinath said, ” I don’t think I will be playing the domestic season this year. I’m going to play the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). I’m taking one thing at a time. But I’m not announcing retirement. I will decide a bit later. He’ll be acting as the captain of  Karaikudi Kaalai this TNPL.

The prolific batsman attributed his decision to several factors and said, “I have a young family. I haven’t had any break since my debut in first-class season. I have been playing as a professional for the last three years which meant a lot of travelling. And last year I completed 10,000 runs. At this stage of my career, I know I don’t have a chance to play international cricket again. I also had a tennis elbow injury last year and took steroid injection to complete the season. I have all these in mind.”

TNPL

Badrinath also asserted his faith in his team in the TNPL, by saying, “The guys are looking confident. Many of our guys are in good form and they have been doing well in the first division. The important thing is to start well and keep the momentum going. That will be key.”

Commenting on the outstation players’ controversy in the TNPL, Badrinath said that the presence of such players is bound to improve the standards of the tournament, but it isn’t a requisite. “There are two sides to it. If outstation players come and play the tournament, the quality of the tournament will improve, which ultimately benefits the players who are playing. At the end of the day more players from TN are going to be involved. If outstation players come, the standard will improve, but if you ask whether outstation players are needed, then I would say no,” he said.