Young and run-hungry, S Badrinath has been the mainstay of the Tamil Nadu batting for the last three seasons, and also their captain for the last two. Standing tall at the crease, Badrinath, who plays with a correct technique, was pitchforked into the national consciousness in 2005-06 when he nearly topped the batting charts, scoring 636 runs from 7 matches at almost 80, missing pole position by 36 runs to Amol Muzumdar, who played one match more. In comparison 2006-07 was not as spectacular, but Badrinath managed 436 runs at almost 50. An excellent fielder at point, and elsewhere in the circle, Badrinath began as a grafter, something quite rare at a time when strokemakers ruled, and expanded his repertoire of strokes as he gained experience. In 2007, he piled on the runs for India A on their tours to Zimbabwe and Kenya, and in the home series against South Africa A. In October, he was called-up to the ODI squad for the last three one-dayers against Australia, though he did not get a game. He was dropped for the series against Pakistan that followed. He shrugged off the disappointment by performing well in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 659 runs at 65.90. After being ignored for ten months, he was named as Sachin Tendulkar's replacement for the Sri Lanka ODIs.
Anand Vasu August 2008

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Aug 27, 2008 S Badrinath was caught for six off Muttiah Muralitharan © AFP

Aug 24, 2008 The Sri Lankans are delighted as S Badrinath falls © AFP

Aug 20, 2008 S Badrinath punches the air after securing the win © AFP

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