Indian cricketer in focus: Stuart Binny – turning the tables around

2006 passed by uneventfully, but in 2007, when the rebel Indian Cricket League came calling, Stuart decided to give it a shot. After all, his career was going nowhere under the jurisdiction of the BCCI, he reasoned. There are a very few people who can say that joining the ICL was the best decision of their life. Stuart Binny, however, is certainly one of them.

Representing the Hyderabad Heroes, he effortlessly and consistently outshone his other teammates, gradually regaining all his lost confidence in the process. He scored 804 runs in 35 innings at an average of 25.93, and contributed with the ball by taking 17 wickets.

Possessing a newfound belief in his own abilities, Stuart Binny accepted the BCCI’s amnesty offer in 2009, hoping to crawl his way back into the Karnataka scheme of things. Luckily for him, the selectors were benevolent enough to give him a second chance, and Binny ensured that they didn’t regret it.

In 2010/11, he made 428 runs at an average of 47.55. In 2011/12, Binny enchanted the few remaining followers of domestic cricket with his sparkling stroke-play, towering his way to 798 runs at a tremendous average of 66.50. Also, he scalped twenty five wickets at 19.48 runs-a-piece, and his outstanding overall contribution guaranteed that he would go on to be honoured with BCCI’s Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy that season.

Binny’s good run of form continued into the 2012/13 season, and when a hamstring injury ruled Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar out, it came as no surprise that Binny was handed over the mantle of captaincy. He had finally managed to convince the cricketing world that he was here for good. With the tiny check box of making all his Ranji Trophy critics eat humble pie now ticked, he moved on to showcase his talent on a bigger platform in the Indian Premier League.

Handpicked by Rahul Dravid as a promising youngster in IPL 4, Binny didn’t get too many games with the Rajasthan Royals in 2011 or 2012. But come 2013, Stuart played like a man possessed. Seizing every opportunity he was given, Binny played a massive hand in the success of a team that continually punched above its weight.

Stuart Binny impressed for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 6

Clearly, a lot has changed since that disastrous debut season in 2003. Gone is the blind arrogance in his stance, gone are those loose wafts outside off stump and gone are those careless, airborne flicks off his legs. Somewhere along the way, Stuart Binny has managed to transform his reputation of an immature, unreliable, bits-and-pieces player to a solid yet powerful batsman more than handy with his medium pacers.

Binny’s selection in the India-A squad scheduled to tour South Africa later this month is easily the biggest break of his career. However, going by the sheer weight of his performances, it was just a mere formality. In this free-wheeling interview with Sportskeeda, Binny talks about how he managed to turn the tables on a career that was once spiralling downhill at the rate of knots.

He may not have the natural talent of a Sachin Tendulkar. He may not have the unbreakable technique and water-tight defence of a Rahul Dravid. He may not have overwhelming, dominating, flamboyance of a MS Dhoni. What Stuart Binny does have though, is a little bit of everything. And truck loads of grit and determination.