Thaindian News

Port of Spain, June 5 (IANS) Subramanian Badrinath, who made a successful comeback into the Indian cricket team with a fluent 43-run knock against the West Indies in a T20 tie, asserted that his focus is on maintaining good form and cementing his place in the national side.

Badrinath, who was playing his match for India since November 2008, helped the team recover from an ordinary start and took the score to 159 for six in 20 overs. The West Indies fell short of the target by 16 runs.

“It is a nice feeling to be able to contribute to India’s win,” Badrinath was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “I have been playing a lot of cricket, especially the T20 format, in the last one month or so, and it helped me to keep my game in balance.”

The Chennai-based cricketer has managed to prove his critics wrong in the recent past. Badrinath, earlier considered to be more suited to the longer version of the game, has excelled in T20 with the 2011 Indian Premier League being a testimony to that. He scored 396 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 126.

“I have been working with the coaches. The IPL experience has helped me a great deal. It has been lot of hard work but I enjoy improving my game and want to play for India for as long as possible.

“I don’t want to say what exactly what I want to do but the first thing is that I need to cement a spot in the team. I am just focussed on contributing consistently.”

Badrinath, a veteran on the domestic circuit, has played a mere three One-day Internationals since his debut in 2008. The 30-year-old admitted that he is still a newcomer at the highest level but said he does not consider himself as a junior in the side.

“I have played with lot of these guys in domestic cricket and on A tours. I am not seeing myself as a senior or junior. The fact is that I am new to international cricket but I use my experience and back myself,” he said.