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The Rediff Interview / Roger Binny

'I just kept telling them to be positive cricketers; that's all'

Years after he retired from playing cricket, all-rounder Roger Binny has shot into the limelight again for having coached the team which recently won the under-19 World Cup. Interestingly, this team too appears to have consisted largely of players who can bat, bowl and field, and could well develop into all-rounders that the senior Indian eleven badly needs.

Binny is quite outspoken about his conviction that the senior team can only regain its lost glory if its players stop focussing on specific dimensions of the game like batting only, or just bowling. He says they must learn to field well, play an attacking game instead of being defensive, and spend good time trying to develop all-round skills.

The success of the under-19 team seems to have vindicated his approach to a great extent. But then, as he himself readily conceded, nothing succeeds like success! This articulate and perceptive cricketer, who has nevertheless remained very quiet after his team's success, broke his silence to exclusively share with M D Riti his experience of coaching and managing a bunch of youngsters.

Other than coaching successful teams, Binny continues to hold his job as deputy manager, State Bank of India. And on weekends, he runs a fairly lucrative and successful cricket coaching academy for the young boys of Bangalore.

So, how did you find the experience of coaching and managing the under-19s in Sri Lanka?

It was quite an easy job. The guys were all young, keen and raring to go. That made my job so much easier as I did not have to get after them to play well or do things.

Do you think your own relationship with them, which was reportedly very good, helped them perform better and enabled you to get more out of them?

The main thing is that you have got to get them to respect you. And as long as you are a person who has played the game himself, players will look up to you. As these are young boys, they will definitely be willing to listen to you if you are a Test cricketer. They will follow your advice if they know that they will benefit from it.

The entire situation of the under-19s is very different from the main eleven. They are all on their way up and are willing to do anything to rise quickly.

Do you think they did so well because the wickets were similar to India?

Yes, it did help that the wickets were a bit slow. They were not easy to bat on: they were sticking around a bit. It required some discipline on the part of the batsmen. The Indian team came out on top because they needed to stick around on the wicket more than playing their shots, which they did well.

Do you think that's why the Aussies did not do well, because they are used to fast wickets?

Yes, certainly, the wickets needed the batsmen to be a bit more cautious.

Do you think many, or any, of these under-19s will graduate to the Indian senior eleven soon?

Some of them have already played for the India 'A' teams after good performances in the Duleep and Ranji tournaments. Both Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Mohammad Kaif have already played on the 'A' teams. They are the ones who are experienced, and who can fit in at any time. They look good to break in. The other boys will take a bit of time. They need more experience in the local circuit of Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy before they can be considered.

How would you assess Sodhi?

He is a very good all-rounder. He is mature, plays the right knocks, like in the game against Sri Lanka: those were perfect knocks, you know.

Do you think players like him could fill in a lacuna on the Indian senior eleven, which really suffers from a dearth for all-rounders?

They are on the look-out for all-rounders. If you see at the top level, they really need few to back up the team. This is the right time for them to make a decision; when they have seen someone who can perform so well. I think it's a strong possibility that Sodhi will break into the team sometime this year.

What about Kaif?

He is more of a batsman. He can bowl a little bit, extend his arm overhead. He did a good job because the wickets were turning a little bit in Sri Lanka. But he is a very capable batsman, with excellent technique. This, combined with the bit of bowling that he does, should take him far.

How would you assess Yuvraj Singh, whose father Yograj has also played for the country, as you know?

Yuvraj is a perfect striker of the ball. But once you get to the next level, the bowling won't be so loose. It's much tighter, and you get less balls to strike. You will have to choose the right shots to play, the right balls to hit. I think a little more experience on the Duleep Trophy circuit and the domestic circuit should sort Yuvraj out.

The contrast between the excellent performance of the under-19s and the poor showing of the senior eleven seems so glaring, what with both happening almost simultaneously. What would you say was the reason for the seniors doing so badly?

The under-19s had a good set of all-rounders: almost seven of them, who could handle both the batting and the bowling comfortably. This all-round strength was very helpful.

Do you think it's also all about good management -- and the senior Indian eleven needs better coaching or management?

When one loses, everything goes wrong. If one gets on to a winning note, everything looks right. We have a lot of very good cricketers on the Indian eleven. I think it's just that they are in a bad phase now. But it will pass, and I am confident that they will soon strike that winning note. I think we, and they, should approach the future with a more positive mind.

What do you think are the prospects of the under-19s now?

The domestic series, like the Ranji Trophy, is starting now. It's up to them to perform well in these matches now, and get recognised. This is where they will have to start working hard and get onto the minds of selectors to come into the limelight.

What has made you such a successful coach? Is it that you are used to handling young aspirant cricketers because you yourself run a cricketing academy?

The experience of having played a lot of one-day cricket for India certainly helped a lot. What the team really lacked was a bit of positiveness. They have to be more attacking, less defensive. You are defensive at certain stages of the game. But at others, you must be positive and attack. That's what was my role with this team. I changed their whole approach to the game.

Do you mean you changed their game itself?

No, I did not change their game in any way. At this point in their career, you cannot change their actual game. All you need to do is teach them the basics of one-day cricket. Like I said, I just kept telling them to be positive cricketers, that's all.

If you were to be invited to coach or manage the senior Indian eleven, after your success with the under-19s, would you accept the job?

I would surely like to get a little more experience at this level, before I did that. It makes such a difference, learning how to study the qualities of individual players and get the best out of them. After doing this for some time more, I certainly will not mind doing it at the top end.

How is your weekend coaching camp doing?

The children are now about to go back to their examinations, and come back to me in April. We work from April to January. We now work from the grounds of the Bangalore Palace. We start at the age group of eight-plus.

Any child cricket prodigies with you there? Any future Indian eleven players?

It's difficult to judge at this stage. They are talented, but it will take me some time to mature these guys. I think in another 2-3 years, I will be able to assess who is really good and likely to go places.

We have so many cricket academies in Bangalore alone. Tell me, don't you think we suffer from a surfeit in this area? Or do you think there are so many great, budding cricketers around?

I think the parents are to blame. They feel every child should be a cricketer. I think the parents should learn to be more balanced in this area. Basically, coaching is not everything for a kid, you know. I don't think so much coaching is necessary for this game. Over-coaching kills a lot of cricketers and ends their careers, you know.

Why has Karnataka been consistently able to turn out so many good players who have ended up on the Indian eleven over the past few years? It's not a one-time thing, as you can see: our players have been consistently making it to the team. Is it that the coaching is so good here? I don't know why this is so. I feel quite surprised at this situation. For the last 5 or 6 years, we have been playing most of our matches on matting surfaces, not on turf like they do in Bombay, Delhi or Calcutta. I think you have to give the credit to the matting wickets that have helped to mature and form these players.

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