Yuvraj got out to a second-ball duck the only time he came out to bat in the lost three-match ODI series against South Africa. He was replaced by Stuart Binny, son of former India all-rounder Roger Binny, currently a member of the selection panel. Binny, 29, has played 53 first-class matches for Karnataka, scoring 2714 runs at 34.79 besides taking 79 wickets. Another surprise inclusion in the team was Madhya Pradesh seamer Ishwar Pandey, who has been drafted into both the ODI and Test squad.
Fit-again pacer Varun Aaron, 24, has made a comeback to the ODI squad replacing Mohit Sharma who failed to impress in South Africa. If he makes it to the final XI of the five-match ODI series, it would be the Jharkhand seamer’s first 50-over appearance for India after 2011.
The Test team was not altered too much with Ishwar coming in place of Pragyan Ojha being the only change made to the 17-member squad for the two-match series against the Kiwis starting February 10 in Auckland after a two-day practice match.
Interestingly, Ojha did not get a single game in the two-match series against South Africa which India lost 0-1 Monday. Ishwar (24) has played 31 first-class matches, grabbing 131 wickets at an average of 24.43. The tour of New Zealand will start with the first ODI in Napier, followed by matches in Hamilton (Jan 22 and Jan 28), Auckland (Jan 25) and Wellington (Jan 31).
My call-up has come at the right time: Stuart
NEW DELHI: He was a part of the victorious U-19 World Cup squad in 2000 which had the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif who made their international debut within months, but it took close to 13 years for Stuart Binny to break into the Indian team, when he is nearing 30.
Ironically, he replaced Yuvraj Singh in the New Zealand-bound ODI squad but the 29-year-old Karnataka all-rounder feels the call came at the right time. ‘I think if I would have got a call back then, I wasn’t ready for international cricket back then. But now after some consistent performances in the domestic circuit, I feel more confident about playing international cricket,’ Binny told reporters after having played a game-changing knock of 88 against Delhi in Ranji Trophy at Feroze Shah Kotla on Tuesday.
With his father and former India all-rounder Roger Binny being a part of the national selection committee, Binny junior knows his performance will be under scrutiny even more. ‘Well, I can’t say anything about that. When I got out there in the field, I only concentrate on my performance and nothing else. As far as my father is concerned, he is my first and only coach till date. Whatever I have learnt till date is from him as I picked up the game at his academy. People find our actions similar as he was the one who taught me how to swing the ball,’ Binny said asked about his father Roger’s role in his career.
His first senior team tour is of New Zealand but Binny shared that his first junior international trip was also to New Zealand. ‘When I made my India U-19 debut, the first tour we had was of New Zealand back then. It’s funny that my frst trip with senior team is also to same country,’ he said. For Binny, the 2011-12 season was a breakthrough one as he scored more than 700 runs and picked up as many as 25 wickets.
‘That was the season where I felt that I was doing justice as an all-rounder as I scored runs and took wickets. I was converting my 40’s and 50’s into big hundreds. Having toured with the India A team to South Africa earlier this year also helped. There were atleast 7-8 guys of the current India team who were there. They helped me get used to rigours of international cricket,’ Binny added.
He missed out on a couple of seasons after joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) but the time spent with Steve Rixon turned out to be useful. ‘It were those two years that gave me a chance to reflect on my game. I knew the comeback wasn’t easy but I had worked hard. I worked a lot with Hyderabad (ICL) coach Steve Rixon on various aspects of my game,’ Binny said.
For the burly all-rounder, it is the pressure situation that brings the best out of him as it happened on Tuesday. ‘Today we were 73/4 and my natural game is to attack the bowling. Since I started using my feet and charging the spinners, they tried bowling a bit flatter. This helped me play those late cuts. Pressure situation brings the best out of me. This year, I started with a century but then couldn’t convert the starts. I am happy this innings helped the team’s cause,’ Binny stated.
He got the news during the tea-break and for the first few overs in the post-tea session, Binny admitted it was difficult to concentrate. ‘I was speaking to my partner (Karun Nair) and was pleasantly shocked. It took two to three overs to realise that I was in the team. Then Ashish (Nehra) came in to bowl and said that I am going to get at you. He is still pretty quick,’ he concluded.
Fit-again pacer Varun Aaron, 24, has made a comeback to the ODI squad replacing Mohit Sharma who failed to impress in South Africa. If he makes it to the final XI of the five-match ODI series, it would be the Jharkhand seamer’s first 50-over appearance for India after 2011.
The Test team was not altered too much with Ishwar coming in place of Pragyan Ojha being the only change made to the 17-member squad for the two-match series against the Kiwis starting February 10 in Auckland after a two-day practice match.
Interestingly, Ojha did not get a single game in the two-match series against South Africa which India lost 0-1 Monday. Ishwar (24) has played 31 first-class matches, grabbing 131 wickets at an average of 24.43. The tour of New Zealand will start with the first ODI in Napier, followed by matches in Hamilton (Jan 22 and Jan 28), Auckland (Jan 25) and Wellington (Jan 31).
My call-up has come at the right time: Stuart
NEW DELHI: He was a part of the victorious U-19 World Cup squad in 2000 which had the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif who made their international debut within months, but it took close to 13 years for Stuart Binny to break into the Indian team, when he is nearing 30.
Ironically, he replaced Yuvraj Singh in the New Zealand-bound ODI squad but the 29-year-old Karnataka all-rounder feels the call came at the right time. ‘I think if I would have got a call back then, I wasn’t ready for international cricket back then. But now after some consistent performances in the domestic circuit, I feel more confident about playing international cricket,’ Binny told reporters after having played a game-changing knock of 88 against Delhi in Ranji Trophy at Feroze Shah Kotla on Tuesday.
With his father and former India all-rounder Roger Binny being a part of the national selection committee, Binny junior knows his performance will be under scrutiny even more. ‘Well, I can’t say anything about that. When I got out there in the field, I only concentrate on my performance and nothing else. As far as my father is concerned, he is my first and only coach till date. Whatever I have learnt till date is from him as I picked up the game at his academy. People find our actions similar as he was the one who taught me how to swing the ball,’ Binny said asked about his father Roger’s role in his career.
His first senior team tour is of New Zealand but Binny shared that his first junior international trip was also to New Zealand. ‘When I made my India U-19 debut, the first tour we had was of New Zealand back then. It’s funny that my frst trip with senior team is also to same country,’ he said. For Binny, the 2011-12 season was a breakthrough one as he scored more than 700 runs and picked up as many as 25 wickets.
‘That was the season where I felt that I was doing justice as an all-rounder as I scored runs and took wickets. I was converting my 40’s and 50’s into big hundreds. Having toured with the India A team to South Africa earlier this year also helped. There were atleast 7-8 guys of the current India team who were there. They helped me get used to rigours of international cricket,’ Binny added.
He missed out on a couple of seasons after joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) but the time spent with Steve Rixon turned out to be useful. ‘It were those two years that gave me a chance to reflect on my game. I knew the comeback wasn’t easy but I had worked hard. I worked a lot with Hyderabad (ICL) coach Steve Rixon on various aspects of my game,’ Binny said.
For the burly all-rounder, it is the pressure situation that brings the best out of him as it happened on Tuesday. ‘Today we were 73/4 and my natural game is to attack the bowling. Since I started using my feet and charging the spinners, they tried bowling a bit flatter. This helped me play those late cuts. Pressure situation brings the best out of me. This year, I started with a century but then couldn’t convert the starts. I am happy this innings helped the team’s cause,’ Binny stated.
He got the news during the tea-break and for the first few overs in the post-tea session, Binny admitted it was difficult to concentrate. ‘I was speaking to my partner (Karun Nair) and was pleasantly shocked. It took two to three overs to realise that I was in the team. Then Ashish (Nehra) came in to bowl and said that I am going to get at you. He is still pretty quick,’ he concluded.