B. Indrajith’s countenance gives little away. Composure in situations of duress is his ally. He often manoeuvres his way through choppy waters.
Indrajith’s 151 against Railways in the Ranji Trophy match at Delhi was a match-winning effort. It was a knock — only one more batsman crossed 40 in the innings — of maturity from a 21-year-old cricketer.
His precious qualities have been recognised. Indrajith is already the vice-captain of the Tamil Nadu Ranji team. “I love responsibility. It gets the best out of me,” he said in a chat with The Hinduon Tuesday.
He shares a healthy rapport with Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund. “He is an attacking captain but can adapt his style to different situations. If I have any suggestions to make, I discuss them with him,” Indrajith said.
While he has a mind that ticks, Indrajith is a compact, fleet-footed middle-order batsman with sound basics.
“Apart from playing the bigger shots, I like to keep rotating the strike. If I bat 150 or 160 deliveries I should be able to get a century,” he said.
The big hundred against Railways pleased him immensely. Indrajith said, “I needed the innings. When you get a start, it is important that you kick on.”
Asked about any changes in his mindset for the ongoing season, Indrajith said, “I decided that if the pitch was not assisting the spinners, I would dominate them.”
On Tamil Nadu’s batting so far, Indrajith said, “We have not been dependent on any single individual. Everyone has contributed. Dinesh Karthik, Malolan Rangarajan, J. Kousik and Aparajith have all scored hundreds.”
Comparisons with twin brother Aparajith are inevitable but Indrajith said, “There is no rivalry. Our roles are different. He is a top order batsman and I bat in the middle-order. But we discuss a lot about the game.”
Queried on the State side’s tendency to collapse — Tamil Nadu was dismissed for 95 in its second innings against Mumbai after gaining a 140-run first innings lead — Indrajith said, “It was a one-off thing. You must also give credit to left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar. We lost wickets to some good deliveries. We would definitely like to avoid such instances.”
Turning his attention to two humdingers involving Tamil Nadu this season — against Baroda and Mumbai — Indrajith said: “We won one while the match in Mumbai got away. You learn a lot from these experiences.”
He was appreciative of the support staff. “R.I. Palani gives us pep talks and it really helps. L. Balaji has been of immense help as pace bowling coach. Aswin Crist and Mohammed have bowled really well. They go in with a plan for every batsman.”
Indrajith was not willing to look too far into the season. “We are taking it one step at a time before qualification. Of course, we are confident.”