The lifestyle change that brought Binny's career to life

[maniac]

 

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The Stuart Binny of 2007 was in stark contrast to the one that turns out for the Indian team these days. Twenty-three years of age then, Binny was anything but a strapping young lad. He still had a penchant for changing games, though. Useful medium pace and handy hits lower down the order, Binny was the kind of player India had been on the lookout for, for a long, long time.

But the Binny of 2007 was a rather frustrated one. And having struggled to make an impact with his state side, Karnataka, he moved on to the Indian Cricket League. The rebel league, as Binny would later admit, transformed him as a player. He took BCCI's amnesty offer two years later and came back to represent his domestic team.

A little over 30 months since his debut, Binny finds himself in the Indian Test team that is about to tour the West Indies. And this upswing in his cricket career has happened largely due to a lifestyle choice that Binny made around four years ago.

"I was not getting any younger. I was 27 when I decided to give it a shot," Binny said on Saturday (July 2) in Bengaluru, where the BCCI had arranged a media session. "If you don't go, you never know. I took that chance, eight months off, but eight months of eating well, sleeping well, training well - exact times. I had to train on Sundays for the first six months, which I never did before, and it got me the results."

"It was a choice that I had to make, especially if I wanted to play. Being leaner and stronger helped my bowling. The reason I fit into teams is because I can bowl and not because of my batting. For me, bowling was crucial and I had to get fit for more opportunities and at a higher grade. It took me two years to get into the condition right now. You get IPL (Indian Premier League) along the way and you do not get time to train because you travel. But that is no excuse. It is a lot of sacrifices but good ones.

"I looked after my diet. That helped me 65-70 per cent. It is about eating at the right time and five good meals. You need to balance and eat good protein. I did a lot of running in the first year. Power training in the last few months. That has helped a lot of guys to bowl well in the second, third spell. That is what training is about," he added.

Fitness has come to be one of the most important aspects in the game at present, and Binny's case goes on to prove what dedication towards that cause reaps. Another player who has gained immensely thanks to a lifestyle change is Binny's Test and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli. The Karnataka all-rounder is all praise for his captain.

"Virat has been a leader and he has been someone who has been good at judging people. He knows what he wants. When he wants something, he backs you. Communication has been excellent between Virat and me. He has told me exactly what he needs and he expects me to go out and do it. To have shown so much faith in the IPL and even Sri Lanka. To play me straight away shows he had a lot of faith. It is all about paying him back," said Binny.

 

Stuart Binny during a practice session in Bengaluru © AFP

 

Another person Binny might have to pay back soon could be Anil Kumble. The coach has seen Binny from close quarters from when he made his First-Class debut in 2003. Kumble's advice and experience could prove priceless for the all-rounder.

"I've never been to West Indies. I don't know what to expect. West Indies is a place where even my own father has not played. I couldn't even ask him about what sort of conditions will be there," lamented the 32-year-old.

"Anil bhai has captained me in Ranji Trophy, in fact. He pretty much knows my game inside out. He has spoken about how our mindset should be when we go. I have never been to the West Indies, so I don't know what to expect. I have been having chats about what type of and what brand of cricket they try and play over there. 

Speaking about the changed player that he is, not all of Binny's reasons were cricket-related. Behind Binny's toothy smiles, lean and fit body and fearsome tattoos, lies the romantic. His career upsurge coincided with his marriage to television host Mayanti Langer in 2012. It's a partnership that Binny admitted has had a huge positive impact on him.

"She has been everything to me. We don't talk cricket technically, but you need someone when you play international cricket. You end up having more bad days than good.

"She has been that person for me. My father has played Test cricket but when you get married, your life goes in a different direction. She has brought me to where I am. Disappointments, she works too, and I (understand) when she has a bad day. It's a balance and we have struck that balance. I need to be there for her when she has her bad days," he underlined.

 

 

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[sscomp32]

Very Nice read.  

I always feel he is criticized much more than he deserves. 

[sourab10forever]

What...he has a career ?

[Mosher]

Binny Good that he has worked on his fitness but he is only in the team as we don't have a decent enough all rounder. Average bits and pieces player. What bowling is he talking about???

[sscomp32]

19 minutes ago, sourab10forever said:

What...he has a career ?

Tough to believe but he has.  

The best ever ODI figure by an Indian bowler.

Also helped saved a test in England you know. 

@gaurav92 will tell you in detail. 

[Ankit_sharma03]

3 hours ago, Mosher said:

Binny Good that he has worked on his fitness but he is only in the team as we don't have a decent enough all rounder. Average bits and pieces player. What bowling is he talking about???

Exactly he is in team becoz of lack of better options, andho men kanna raja basically

 

Ill b happy if with fitness he works on his skills sets also. He has the power to be gud power hitter but lacks consistency with bat and hasnt taken that ability to next level all this yrs. His batting technique looks more than decent but again batting hasnt gone to other level.

As a bowler he is gud swing bowler but in Odi' he wud mostly get to bowl after 15-20 over n bowl wnt  swing a bit post tht. As a bowler a guy like Ian harvey shud be an example for him who use to take tons n tons of wkts in middle overs with his slower ones. As bowler i feel he cud have added slower ones and tried to become hit the deck hard bowler too.

 

Working on fitness is gud but one needs to add to skill set also to be selected regularly.

[Texy]

His lifestyle did change after marriage. 

 

 3 x day is a great work out. 

[tweaker]

He got.lucky to be selected in team due to unavailability of other options.He can hang around for some time till Pandya is ready to take over his place.

 

[MechEng]

[TheWall]

Looks fit....