On Friday, Tamil Nadu cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He also appeared for Indian national cricket team in every international cricket formats.
A day after his 38th birthday, Badrinath has taken one of his hardest decisions to finish his cricket career. Making his debut in the professional cricket in 2000/01, the right-handed batsman played 145 first-class matches, 144 List A matches and 142 T20s where he scored 10,245 runs, 4,164 runs and 2,300 runs respectively. As a right-arm off-spin bowler, Badrinath also took a total of 34 wickets.
The former Tamil Nadu skipper Badrinath moved to Vidarbha in 2014/15 and led the side too. In the last periods of his career, Badrinath represented for Hyderabad.
Badrinath made his international cricket debut in 2008 and played two Tests, seven ODIs and only T20I. In the international cricket, Badrinath played only one 50+ innings and that was too during his debutant Test innings (56) in February 2010 against South Africa at Nagpur.
He was named in the 30-man provisional squad for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in West Indies but failed to earn the name to the final squad.
On Friday, Badrinath said at TNCA (Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) Academy in Chennai, “It has certainly not been an easy decision. I have been pondering over it. But, having turned 38 [on Thursday], I have decided that it is the right time to take the call.
“To be honest, my personal best season was 2010-11. I got to close about 1,300 runs and I was really batting at my best. It not about the number of runs I scored during the season, but I knew that I was really batting well.”
During that announcement, Badrinath thanked TNCA, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), childhood coaches etc.
Badrinath was once a regular player in Indian Premier League (IPL). While he played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from 2008 to 2012, he served for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2013. Playing a total of 95 IPL matches, Badrinath scored 1,441 runs with the average of 30.65, including 11 half-centuries.
The former CSK player thanked the skipper MS Dhoni and remarked him as the best captain that he has played under.
Badrinath said, “I am thankful to skipper Dhoni, the best captain I have played under, and of course, the captain under whom I have played the maximum cricket (for the Chennai Super Kings).”
Former Tamil Nadu captain and Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji has congratulated Badrinath on his wonderful career.
Balaji said on this occasion, “Badri and I go back a long way back and I congratulate him on his wonderful career. We have played together for almost 20 years. I would like to wish him good luck in his future endeavours. Just like me — I’m into coaching now — he can also be a part of some [team] and can always contribute to the cause, which has given so much to us.”
