RANCHI : As Tamil Nadu entered the Ranji Trophy knockouts last week, Baba Indrajith became the talk of the town in the domestic circuit. He had just scored a big hundred (187 vs Punjab) and TN had qualified for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Ask him how he feels to be in the limelight, “I cannot complain at all,” laughs Indrajith on the eve of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal clash against Saurashtra. “I am happy that I am in this situation. When there is so much attention, it means I have done something right.”
Indeed, he has. Not just this season, but for years now. More so after the pandemic. Seven hundreds and as many fifties in 20 red-ball games across tournaments since 2021-22. One of the most consistent middle-order batters in the domestic circuit and an integral part of the Tamil Nadu team, Indrajith has indeed left an indelible mark in the past three seasons. And yet, he is still waiting for that next-level call up.
Dejected at times, but he has realised that some things are not in his control. As someone who has played Ranji Trophy for about a decade and performed consistently, he knew that he needed to work both on his mental and physical side rather than skill. At the start of the 2023-24 season when he was left out of the state T20 side, Indrajith decided to make the most of it working on his mind.
“I had done some inner engineering courses already. I was doing yoga, and had passed the Kriya course. I have been following it regularly for about five months now. Apart from that, I went to Coimbatore for another course where I did it for four days without mobiles and no contact with the outside world. These were conscious efforts to improve my mental skills,” he says. “I know I was sitting at home without doing anything. I know whenever I get my eye in it will be a motivation for me. I know personally how much I had struggled and whenever I got my eye in during Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy, I pushed myself by reminding it.”
However, for someone who kicks off the Ranji season with big scores more often than not, it was not the case this year. In the first three games, he had just one fifty. “I told myself that not every time things will work out the way I want to. It is not in my hands, all I can do is give my best, prepare my best, whatever comes my way I will take,” he says. Since then, he scored centuries against Chandigarh and Punjab, almost got to the three-figure mark against Karnataka, playing a crucial role in Tamil Nadu qualifying for the knockouts. Perhaps, the one that gives him the biggest relief would be the 187 against Punjab.
For the longest time one of things that come up when the conversation is about Indrajith is that he doesn’t score big hundreds. Yes, there will be the 115s, 120s and 130s, but not the 180s and 200s. Indrajith, himself, was very much aware of it. “Even before this season, I had a goal. If I get my eye in, I want to make it big. Previously I have got some 120s and 130s but I wanted to make sure I got that big hundred like 180-200. That innings on the first day when I was on 120, I was very determined to get that big score,” he says.
The conversation veers back to TN qualifying for knock outs and what it means to him, one can sense the excitement in his voice. “For the ten years (I have played), seven years we didn’t qualify and it was hard. I feel good and at the same time we need to keep our emotions at check. The cricketing fraternity and people are aware that we have qualified and they are supporting us. The limelight is on us. There are expectations. We have to focus on that one ball, one day, one game at a time,” he says.
Does the attention bring any extra pressure, not just on the team, but also him personally? He understands it, but also realises that the attention is going to stay only as long as the performances are coming. “In the first three games, my position and situation was different. In a matter of two weeks things have changed and that is life. But I know tomorrow or day after if I don’t get those big runs, things are going to change. So I am aware that everything is temporary. But I'm grateful that there is a lot of attention. Now, it is in my hands. I have to completely zone out and do what I have been doing. I am not ignoring, and there is small pressure but I am okay. This is a situation I will take any day,” he signed off.