Badani happy to be back in fold

But the left-handed batsman said here on Monday that it was not his priority at the moment to think about selectorial matters.

“It’s good to be back in mainstream cricket. I am looking forward to scoring runs and play with all my previous team-mates. Let’s see how I perform in these matches,” Badani, who will appear for Rajasthan in the forthcoming Ranji season, said.

The Tamil Nadu player said negotiating the demands of the longer version of the game upon his return was a good sign for him. “I have done well in the TNCA league, scoring about 450 runs in five matches. I think it is a good start because I was not sure how I would cope with the three-day games as I have played only T20 games in the last two years. I thought my problem would be how would I last 90 overs, I was slow to start with in a couple of games, but so far it’s been good,” he said.

Badani added that the relative obscurity of playing for Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy Plate Division did not bother him. “I believe in playing to my potential and not worry about the opposition. Rajasthan have slipped to Plate this year. I am hoping to get them back to the Elite group and also encourage a few youngsters in the team,” he noted.

On the corportate tournament in which he will turn out for India Cements, Badani said, “I think it’s a good initiative from the Board. From now on, corporates will give jobs to the players, which was not happening in the last two years. There was a time when corporates were involved and Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata were the big hubs. For some reason, they have not been giving jobs but this tournament, I think, will solve that problem. Besides, the it also gives players a chance to get back to the groove after some time away from cricket.”