JOIN USStuart Binny was a vital part of the Karnataka team which suffered a stunning loss at the hands of Haryana in last season’s quarterfinal at the Chinnaswamy.
This time around, Binny, who is standing in for R Vinay Kumar as the skipper, has a bigger role to play and the right-hander is well aware of what lies ahead but the loss was still fresh in his memory.
“When we crashed out of the quarterfinals last year, it hurt us badly,” said Binny after Friday’s practice session. “Some of the guys are still hurting. We in fact spoke about it in today’s huddle before practice. We once again face them at a crucial juncture. We can’t leave it to the next game in Pune (against Maharashtra) so we must get it done now.”
In the absence of Vinay and Mithun, who replaced his injured State skipper in the Indian squad for the T20 series against England, Karnataka’s bowling attack wears a bland look, but Binny was quick to brush off any suggestions of not possessing a quality bowling line-up.
“Yeah, it is something to think about but we have some good bowlers in our ranks. SL Akshay plays this game so we are well balanced,” remarked the all-rounder.