Binny eyes the hot seat in Indian cricket

Bangalore-based Binny is cool and composed about his aim, as he was on the pitch during his days of yore when he shared bowling duties with the redoubtable, though now troubled, Kapil Dev.

“I will hopefully take over if given a chance”, says the former seamer who scripted an epic at Lord’s among Kapil’s Devils in the Prudential World Cup final almost two decades ago.

Binny believes his route to the top job is very much an orthodox one. He explains: “Normally it functions that way. We come from junior to senior level. Only Srikanth (Krishnamachari) was an exception”.

He also knows that the job is a thankless one but the politician in him — he is sitting Karnataka MLA — is confident of performing many a tight-rope walk or braving the occasional flak that the job could well draw.

And it looks as if he is already preparing to face the skeptics. He does not believe it is the coach alone who has to shoulder the blame for the team’s loss. No doubt, the coach’s role is important, but it is just how your team performs at that time that matters, he reasons.

Talking about the present Indian team, Binny is happy with the batting, but says it is the bowling which needs a check. “Our batting, on paper, is one of the best in the world. It is the bowling which has to improve.” Binny doesn’t place too much importance on quickies for success in the shorter version of the game. “We do not need speedsters for one-dayers. What we need is basically a combination of batsman and bowler like what Pakistan have right now.”

The bowler in Binny suddenly surfaces when he comes to the rescue of the inexperienced Kumaran and Bhandari who were mauled in the recent Asia Cup. “Bowling in the sub-continent is a tough job with the wickets not being bowler-friendly. One has to concentrate more on line and length and bowl stump to stump.” The 45-year-old Binny, who used share the new ball with Kapil says lesser experienced bowlers tend to bowl faster, “but on our wickets the quicker one bowls, the easier it becomes to score runs”.

Binny states that bowlers should learn to adjust. “Take Kapil, Imran and Wasim Akram for instance. They never bowled pace. When they did get a wicket that was as quick as they went otherwise they concentrated more on line and length.”

Another way a bowler can gain in confidence, Binny says, is by playing in the domestic league against senior players. “Domestic cricket is our future. If a strike or a half-strike bowler plays against the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar, he will exactly know his worth.” But what do we do if players have other obligations. Binny places the country ahead of anything else.

Continuing on the topic, Binny feels that players are playing far too many matches these days. “It definitely improves performance if they are involved in fewer games. After all there will be less fatigue.” And this is one place where Binny feels the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will matter.

Defying critics, who feel NCA should not have emulated the Australian model (ACA) Binny, who is also part of the governing panel at the Academy, says that the training methods are different. He states: “Earlier we used to train and go straight to the nets, six to seven days a week. (He says we are still follow the same principle). “Take a fast bowler like Srinath and Prasad, if you bowl them for 30-45 minutes at nets daily, he won’t last the session. You have to deal with them properly.” (Now we know Srinath needs a break.)

Here NCA can help with weight training, endurance tests, swimming and stretching exercises, all in a week’s programme. But all this requires time and most importantly the Board’s support. “The number of matches need to be restricted in addition to the off-season training so that the players come out fresh.”

Binny, a State-level javelin thrower, knows with times changing, a coach needs to equip himself to keep the team intact in different situations. That’s why he went to Australia, attending the Level III workshop for coaches (the highest level). “Along with different coaches, we tried out new things to improve the player-coach relationship.

The then great cricketers such as Greg Chappell and Dean Jones attended various workshops in man management and team management,”Binny informs of the five-day programme.

So how much time does a coach require to blend a winning outfit? “Minimun two to three years is an ideal time. A combined effort by the Board, coach and the team will see a bright future.”

Is the board listening?