Badrinath can146;t wait to get going

With the announcement of the squad for the first two Tests against Australia in Mumbai coinciding with the end...

With the announcement of the squad for the first two Tests against Australia in Mumbai coinciding with the end of the afternoon net session in Hyderabad, the shifty focus of the media and harsh world of professional sports came together as one under the blazing sun. As a sweaty Badrinath wound up his training session, he suddenly got mobbed by an army of cameras. He instantly knew what it was about. 8220;Am I in the Test side?8221; was his first reaction.

While Badri gave his better-late-than-never sound bytes, several 8216;former8217; Test players turned Board President8217;s XI team members stood around, having suddenly turned onlookers in Indian cricket8217;s latest crowning. Among those who gingerly walked towards the dressing room were Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan 8212; two men who know what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

There were two questions quite audible in the group dragging their kitbags: How come Amit Mishra made it? And did Sourav Ganguly8217;s selection have any strings attached?

Change in equations

The change in the selection committee has seen a change in equations as well. Mishra8217;s inclusion made it clear that young Piyush Chawla wasn8217;t quite the heir apparent to the ageing leggie Anil Kumble anymore, and Badrinath has practically replaced Rohit Sharma as the next big thing in Indian cricket, with the middle-order queue outside the playing XI only getting longer. Only Yuvraj didn8217;t see any change in his status.

In a room full of long faces, Badrinath was smiling alone. 8220;This game is the perfect preparation for me,8221; he said of the game against the Australians starting on Thursday. 8220;They have a really good pace attack and I will have a good look at them here. This will give me the confidence going into the Tests,8221; he said.

Preparing for pace

Even before the news trickled through though, Badrinath had been bracing up for the challenge ahead. After playing the Board President8217;s XI pacers Pankaj Singh and MS Gony in the nets, he spent a long time facing the bowling machine in top gear. Still not satisfied, he chose the bounciest synthetic ball and asked for a long throw-down session. Asked about his preparation and he spoke about the 8216;back foot8217; play he was working on. 8220;Whatever the kind of pitch, you need to be strong on the back foot against the Aussies,8221; he said.

There are several players in the Board President8217;s XI whose brains he can pick about playing the Australians 8212; Yuvraj Singh, Aakash Chopra, Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla and Wasim Jaffer are all familiar with the opposition. Like Badri, Virat Kohli had toured Australia with the India A team, while Pankaj was in the Indian Test squad that went to Australia earlier this year.

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Of the above mentioned players, most have enjoyed success against the world champions, but for now, they can only try and make another case over the next four days.