Southpaw Abhinav Mukund achieved a new milestone on Monday when he scored an unbeaten century against Himachal Pradesh. During the course of his knock, he became the highest run-getter for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.
The former Tamil Nadu captain achieved the feat when he reached 73. In the process, he went past S Sharath, the current state chairman of selectors, who had 6,597 runs to his name.
By the end of the day’s play, Abhinav had aggregated 6,637 runs in total. On the way to the landmark, he eclipsed the likes of Subramaniam Badrinath (6,383) and Dinesh Karthik (6,120).
"It is an honour to have my name alongside legends such as Sharath, Badri and DK who have contributed immensely for our state. I was aware of the record as a few people had informed me about it after they saw the numbers on television during our game against Punjab. But, it slipped my mind while batting today,” Abhinav told The Time of India.
Teammate Vijay Shankar was one of the first to congratulate Abhinav on his achievement, as he walked back to the pavilion at stumps. “I have never played for records. I will always cherish this milestone but it is more important for me to give my team a good start and put them in winning positions. Doing that is what gives me immense satisfaction,” said Abhinav.
Abhinav has been a regular member of the TN squad since making his debut in 2007-08 season, where he scored 403 runs from five matches. In his brief international career, Abhinav has played 7 Tests for India. Making his debut against West Indies in 2011, he played his last Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2017.