JOIN USBinny looking forward to playing positive cricket
The call up to the national one-day side came as a “shock” to Stuart Binny. The all-rounder, though, had no regrets for the opportunity coming so late in his career. Rather, he felt it was now that he could deliver the best for the country.
While his under-19 teammates Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel made early entries to the national side, it took Binny nearly a decade to make the cut.
“I think you need to play for your country when you are at your best. Probably I wouldn’t have played for my country at my best then, experience-wise. I went with the under-19 team to New Zealand, that was my first tour with the junior team and it is New Zealand again with the main side. I am excited and looking forward to play good and positive cricket,” Binny, who replaced Yuvraj Singh in the squad, told reporters on Tuesday.
“I got the news when I was coming down to bat in the last session. It took me some time to gather my thoughts. It is a feeling which I can’t describe”
Binny, a short-format expert, boosted his chances with his robust all-round performance in the last two seasons. The 2011-2012 season, in particular, stood out for him where he rustled up 742 runs and took 20 wickets.
In the 2012013 season, he stacked up 612 runs while claimed 19 wickets to establish himself as one of the premier all-rounders in domestic circuit.
“I realised that things would only change if I work on consistency. I realised that two-three seasons ago when Karnataka needed me the most. I especially needed to bowl a bit more, it is crucial for me,” said Binny, who had moved to the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2007.
“The 2011-2012 season gave me the confidence. Post ICL, I knew I needed to grab whatever chances came my way. It was a tough period for me but I got to learn a lot in ICL from Steve Rixon, who was the coach of Hyderabad team. It made me mentally stronger.”
The Bangalorean came into national reckoning with robust show with the bat for Rajasthan Royals in the last season when the Jaipur franchise made the play-offs before losing to the Mumbai Indians.
The 29-year-old rattled 293 runs in the lower order at a strike rate of around 150 besides chipping in with crucial breakthroughs.
Stuart, son of former all-rounder and 1983 World Cup winning player Roger Binny, attributed his progress to his father. “My dad has been everything to me. He is my first and only coach. I grew up in his academy. There were a lot of comparisons with him when growing up as we both bat and bowl. I have a similar action to him which I picked by seeing him bowl at the nets. He always told me to enjoy cricket and not think too much. It is something I have always remembered,” he said.