Badrinath ‘relieved’ with 10,000-run breach

When S. Badrianth entered into the 90s with the 16th of his 21 cracking boundaries during Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy Group C game against Chhattisgarh, his dressing room applauded him for crossing the 10,000-run mark in first-class cricket.

During his innings of 134, Badrinath also surged to No. 6 in the list of all-time highest run-getters in the history of the Ranji Trophy.

When S. Badrianth entered into the 90s with the 16th of his 21 cracking boundaries during Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy Group C game against Chhattisgarh, his dressing room applauded him. Not because they had been missed the count and wished him ten runs earlier, but because the veteran batsman had crossed the 10,000-run mark in first-class cricket.

Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu stalwart who has been plying his trade as a professional since 2014-15, thus became the 47th Indian to enter the five-digit club. “It gives a sense of achievement and a little bit of relief as well. This milestone has been hovering over my head for the last year or so. It’s nice that I have kind of got it out of the way. It’s a milestone which has been recorded and now I have to move on and contribute as a batsman and captain,” he told Sportstar ..

Badrinath's numbers in first-class cricket

The milestone has also given a sense of the time lapse for Badrinath, the soft-spoken Chennaiite playing his 17th season of domestic cricket. “It’s actually tough to fathom because it actually feels as if I started playing cricket just a few days back. I feel I made my first-class debut only recently but time flies so fast for a professional sportsman, it’s actually tough to believe I have scored 10,000 runs.”

During his innings of 134, Badrinath also surged to No. 6 in the list of all-time highest run-getters in the history of the Ranji Trophy. Coming into the match with 7,516 Ranji runs, he surpassed domestic stalwarts Rashmi Parida (7,516), Shitanshu Kotak (7,607), Pankaj Dharmani (7,621) and Amarjeet Kaypee (7,623).

When asked to compare this achievement with that of earning the Test cap, Badrinath admitted he couldn’t really compare the two. “They are two completely different achievements. Test cap is something that every cricketer aspires for all his life. Whereas, I never thought of scoring 10,000 first-class runs all through my career. Only when I crossed the 9,000-run mark did I sense that yes, I could get there. Delighted that it’s off the back now,” he said.