HYDERABAD: Middle-order batter A Varun Goud’s consistency was the key to Hyderabad’s triumph in the All India Buchi Babu Invitation tournament in Chennai recently. He aggregated 494 runs in the tournament at an impressive average of 98.8 and was adjudged the Player of the tournament. He slammed one century and five half-centuries apart from claiming six wickets with his leg-breaks. The batting all-rounder hoped his Chennai performances will help him in this season’s Ranji Trophy. “It was a memorable experience. The quality of the teams in the tournament was almost Ranji Trophy level and the pitches were challenging. My performance gave me a lot of confidence. I hope this experience will count going forward,” he told TOI. Varun made his first-class debut last year against Himachal Pradesh in a Ranji game at home and also played against Vidarbha. Speaking on his Buchi Babu exploits, Varun revealed, “we were aware of the dry tracks in Chennai and having played on such surfaces here came in handy.” The 25-year-old added that he put the team first. Hyderabad also were without Tanmay Agarwal, who joined the South zone squad in Duleep Trophy. “The pressure was there because Tanmay bhai was very consistent up the top order. We lacked some experience. But the youngsters who came in like Nitin Sai Yadav and Aman Rao delivered straightaway. And the tag of defending champions was not a burden for us. It was kind of a confidence booster. We used it in a positive way,” he added. Varun credited captain Rahul Singh and coach DB Ravi Teja for the positive environment. “Rahul bhaiyya, and coach Ravi Teja made sure that nobody got carried away. They told us to stay in the present. He (Ravi Teja) is not much of a speaker. But whatever he talks, there is a lot of logic. Both gave us a lot of freedom to express ourselves,” he explained. Varun, who is inspired by Tilak Varma and admires Hardik Pandya, is looking ahead to the season. “I am not trying to go after milestones. Even in Buchi Babu, I wanted to give my best and it worked.” Varun attributed his success to former India fielding coach R Sridhar at the Coaching Beyond academy and his childhood coaches Nagraj, Lakshman and Suresh at Spotlight Academy. The player, who represents Sporting in the HCA leagues, is also keen to contribute with the ball. “A tall leg-break bowler in a team is a big advantage as well,” said Varun who idolises Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. Performance in All India Buchi Babu tourneyBatting: Matches 5; Runs 494; NO 4; HS 100* Ave 98.8; SR 54.52; 100s 1; 50s 5; 4s 27; 6s 2. Bowling: Matches 5; wickets 6
