Playing Australia is a dream come true: Badri

With every selection, comes rejection for those who don't make the cut. For long now S Badrinath has been at the wrong end each time India's five wise men met, reports Anand Vasu.

With every selection, comes rejection for those who don't make the cut. For long now S Badrinath has been at the wrong end each time India's five wise men met. October 1, though, is a day he will remember forever, for it was the day his two biggest ambitions in life were fulfilled.

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"I am obviously delighted. Two of my biggest dreams were to play Test cricket and compete against Australia and both have been realised now," Badri said on Wednesday soon after the Indian squad for the first two Tests was announced. "I am sure when I get my opportunity I will be able to do justice to it as this is what I been waiting for so long"

All talk of seniors making way and fresh faces taking their places rests light with Badri, who is focussing solely on his own game. "It is never going to be easy to replace the seniors in the side. Those are huge boots to fill. But what one must understand they also made a start only in similar fashion," said Badri.

"I also have to start somewhere. But I am not going to let the replacement issue affect my game. Playing against Australia is a huge challenge and I am looking forward to it."

Badri, who began as a grafter and has since added several arrows to his quiver, was most recently trying to fine tune his back-foot play. "I have been working on my back foot play. Bowlers from Australia generally get more bounce and it is important to have a good back foot technique against them. But before that I have given equal importance to all aspects of my game," he said.

Mishra back in reckoning

Amit Mishra had just done his bit in bowling India A to victory against New Zealand A in Chennai, returning figures of 25-4-55-3 when news of his recall to the Test squad filtered through. "I am happy and I had been hoping for and expecting this call for the last one year. After being dropped (Bangladesh, 2003) I kept working hard and knew it would pay off at some time," said Mishra. "I am doubly happy because the selection has come on the same day I played my part in India A beating New Zealand A"

Mishra, who modelled his action on Shane Warne, thoroughly enjoyed playing against the Australian legend in the inaugural IPL. Mishra, who plays for the Delhi IPL team, picked up a hat-trick against the Hyderabad IPL team and says that boosted his confidence.

But now he looked forward to learning from another legend. "I have been working on my top-spinner and loop and playing under Anil Kumble will be a huge bonus as I will get to learn a lot from a player who has huge experience."