Tamil Nadu’s and Chennai Super King’s middle-order batsman S Badrinath. (File photo|AP)
CHENNAI : S Badrinath, who had been the mainstay of Tamil Nadu’s batting for almost 18 years, announced his retirement on Friday. His former teammate L Balaji and father Subramaniam were with him at MA Chidambaram Stadium when he made the announcement. At 38 and with more than 10,000 runs in first-class cricket, Badrinath retired a satisfied man. In 2010 he made his Test debut against South Africa and made 56 against a rampaging Dale Steyn in Nagpur. Unfortunately, his Test career ended after just one more match in that series. To prolong his domestic career, he turned out for Vidarbha and Hyderabad in the last few seasons.
“I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. People thought I would never even play T20 cricket. But I went on to play more than 100 games for Chennai Super Kings. I got to play the format for India too, which I had never dreamt of,’’ said Badri, as he was affectionately called. He thanked all his coaches, the TNCA and BCCI, his family, teammates and friends for making his journey memorable. Balaji spoke of Badrinath’s commitment for the game. “I congratulate him for a wonderful career. I remember a game he saved for Tamil Nadu despite being admitted to hospital for dehydration. Such was his determination. Hats off to his courage and efforts over the years.’’ he recalled.
Perhaps the best compliment came from former India opener and Ranji stalwart WV Raman. “Badri was the backbone of the Tamil Nadu team during his time. His hunger to pile up big scores was unmatched. His ton against Baroda on a turning track and his double ton against Mumbai were the best innings he played in a long career.”
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