Hope Rohit and his men win the World T20 this time, says Roger Binny

The natural etiquette, grace and charm he brings to the table adds lustre to the job of the BCCI president.

There is this old fashioned goodness about Roger Binny that puts everyone around him at ease, even as he finds solutions to vexing questions. And age — he is 67 — sits lightly on this genial man.

An incisive swing bowler with wicket-taking skills and a smooth-stroking batter [Binny has more than 100 international wickets and over 1000 runs for the country] he played a major role in two of India’s biggest triumphs in ICC events – Prudential World Cup, England, ‘83 and World Championship of Cricket down under, ‘85.

Expressing his views on the sidelines of the TNCA annual day where he was the Chief Guest, Binny said there was not one reason for India’s record in ICC tournaments to be less than satisfactory.

He said, ‘We have made it to the semifinals and finals. Often it depends on that day. Luck plays a part. This is very much so in Twenty20 cricket. We are better at chasing scores than defending them. The pitch too gets slower as the match progresses.”

Binny said, “The Powerplay is one of the important areas. I think the openers have to give us a good start. Then, there is a better chance of winning.”

Binny added, “Hopefully Rohit Sharma and his men will win the World Twenty20 this time.”

The erudite Binny spoke about the dynamics of the ground. “You see several factors come into play. In Australia, the grounds are big so mishits are more likely to be caught. There are exceptions like Adelaide when the boundaries are smaller and you see more sixes.”

On Rohit’s captaincy, Binny said, “I don’t like to make comparisons. Each captain has his own style. And Rohit has his methods.”

About India and Pakistan resuming bilateral tours, Binny said, “This has to be decided by talks between both governments. We will go by what our government tells us.”

Someone who believed in young cricketers developing sound fundamentals, Binny observed, “What we should do is we should take Twenty20 cricket from under-16 and under-19. Let them play the BCCI tournaments. Let them learn the basics properly and then shift to the T20 format.”

Binny said one of his key areas of focus would be to find out why so many Indian cricketers were getting injured. “What is the reason? We need to find out whether it is not overload, whether the players are not fit and whether their exercise routines need to be changed. A lot of players are getting injured during training. It is not a good thing.”

Queried about certain key vacancies to be filled such as West Zone not having a selector, Binny said, “This will be discussed in the meeting after the World Cup.”

On several players expressing displeasure publicly over non-selection, Binny said the selectors had a difficult job to do.

With women achieving parity with men over match fee, Binny said in the forthcoming women’s IPL, five foreign players would be allowed in the eleven – it is four in the men’s IPL – but added all the other important decisions will be taken at a later date.

As he walked away, Binny left with a smile of genuine warmth.