Bengaluru: When Team India begin their warm-up match in West Indies on July 9, it will mark exactly two years to the day after Stuart Binny made his Test debut for the Men in Blue. While chances may not have come as often as he would have liked, the Karnataka pacer has made the tag of the utility man, a valuable if under-rated position, his own.
One of the stars of his Ranji Trophy side, Binny has taken the much-different role given to him in the national side in his stride.
Sometimes our roles are such that I may not bowl much in the match. When we play Ranji Trophy cricket for Karnataka I am used heavily when I bowl. When we go to the international match I only bowl three-four overs sometimes and sometimes never even bowl,” said the all-rounder on Saturday.
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Or I bat at number eight. I guess that’s what’s required from me at that point of time. There is no point getting upset over it. It’s about getting that one chance which I have got, I got three four-five chances which I have taken also. Whenever I am required to bat and bowl, I will do my best,” said Binny.
Heading into his first tour of West Indies, a feat even his father Roger Binny failed to achieve, the 32-year-old is quite clear on the task ahead.
I have never been to the West Indies and I don’t know what to expect. Even my father has not been there so I couldn’t even ask him about the conditions. There are three or four guys who have already played there and I think we need to use their experience. We have two practice matches which will be crucial. My job is pretty simple. I am a third or fourth seamer and my job is to bowl at good areas and help our fast bowlers when they need a break. The simpler you keep the game, the more it tends to be easier,” said the RCB star.
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As for the team mentality under new management, specifically new head coach Anil Kumble, the medium pacer remarked: “We spoke about what brand of cricket we want to go with. We are already thinking of winning the series and that’s where we start. We want to line up the series as fast as possible. If we get ahead in the Test series we don’t want to finish it with a draw or something but take it the whole way. The good thing is that we go to West Indies and then play majority (of the season) at home. So if we can do well there, that will get us a lot more confident for the Tests in India.”
