Roger Binny is a former Indian cricketer and was part of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He is the first Anglo-Indian cricketer to play for India. He was primarily a bowling allrounder with the ability to bat lower down the order and bowl medium pace. Besides this, he was also an agile fielder.
Wiki/Biography
Roger Binny was born on Tuesday, 19 July 1955 (age 66 years; as of 2021) in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Karnataka. His zodiac sign is Cancer. During childhood, he played football and hockey for his school and also held the national record in the Javelin Throw.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Grey
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information available about his parents & siblings.
Wife & Children
Roger Binny is married to Cynthia.
Roger Binny’s wife, Cynthia
The couple is blessed with one son and two daughters. His son, Stuart Binny is also a former Indian cricketer.
Roger Binny’s son, Stuart Binny
His daughter-in-law’s name is Mayanti Langer who is a sports anchor.
Roger Binny’s daughter-in-law, Mayanti Langer
The name of his two daughters is Laura Binny and Lisa Binny.
Roger Binny’s daughter, Lisa Binny
Roger Binny’s daughter, Laura Binny
Signature/Autograph
Roger Binny’s signature
Career
International Debut
Test
He made his Test debut on 6 December 1980 against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground
ODI
He made his ODI debut on 21 November 1979 against Pakistan at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Records
- Only Indian father-son duo to feature in cricket World Cups and third overall
- The third cricketer to open the bowling and batting in the same match in ODIs
- First Indian to finish the World Cups as the highest wicket-taker
- Third best bowling average in Tests by an Indian
- Second best strike-rate in tests by an Indian after Chetan Sharma
- The fourth best economy rate in ODIs by an Indian
Stats
Bowling Stats
Tests
Matches- 27
Innings- 38
Overs- 478.2
Maidens- 76
Runs conceded- 1534
Wickets- 47
BBI- 6/56
BBM- 8/101
Average- 32.63
Economy- 3.20
Strike Rate- 61.0
5w- 2
10w- 0
One Day Internationals
Matches- 72
Innings- 67
Overs- 492.5
Maidens- 37
Runs Conceded- 2260
Wickets- 77
BBI- 4/29
Average- 29.35
Economy- 4.58
Strike Rate- 38.4
4w- 3
5w- 0
Batting Stats
Tests
Matches- 27
Innings- 41
Not Outs- 5
Runs Scored- 830
Highest Score- 83*
Average- 23.05
100s- 0
50s- 5
0s- 7
One Day Internationals
Matches- 72
Innings- 49
Not Outs- 10
Runs Scored- 629
Highest Score- 57
Average- 16.12
Balls Faced-
Strike Rate- 1046
100s- 0
50s- 1
0s- 4
Domestic/State Team(s)
Initial Phase
He played his debut first-class match against Kerala at Raichur at the age of 20. He wasn’t successful in that match but in the next season, he scored 71 runs and took 4 wickets against Maharashtra. In that season, he emerged as the leading run-scorer with 563 runs, which includes 174 runs against Andhra in his home state. He scored unbeaten 211 runs in a first-class game against Kerala early in his career when he had the partnership of 451 runs along with wicket-keeper Sanjay Desai for the opening wicket. Karnataka declared the inning without losing a wicket. It was the record at that until Ravi Sehgal and Raman Lamba broke it in 1994-95.
Roger Binny bowling action
He then made his international debut against Pakistan in 1979 when he scored 46 runs and took the team’s score to 411. However, he couldn’t perform much with the ball and ended the spell without taking any wicket. In the next match against the same side, he took 2 for 32, and 2 for 56 in both innings respectively. He took the crucial wickets of Imran Khan and Zaheer Abbas in that match. His ODI debut was against Australia at Benson & Hedges World Series Cup in 1980 where he was impressed with the ball. Australia was all out for 142 runs, Binny took 2 wickets for 23 runs in that match. In the next match, he took 4 wickets for 41 runs.
1983 Cricket World Cup
In the 1983 Cricket World Cup, he took 18 wickets with a strike rate of 29.3.
1983 Cricket World Cup Indian team squad. Binny 2nd from left standing
In a match against Australia in the group stage, he took 4 wickets for 29 runs and helped India to reach the semi-finals. In an interview, he remembered the final match of the 1983 World Cup, he told,
“After we were bowled out for 183, we knew we had messed it up. The mood was poor in the dressing room and we had a long lunch break and that meant we had more time to brood. But just before we left, Kapil made a speech. He said, ‘The match is not over yet and if we can be bowled out for 183 we should try and bowl them out for less.’ That fired us up.”
He took the crucial wicket of their skipper Clive Lloyd and scored 21 runs in the 1983 World Cup finals, which helped India to win the World Cup. In an interview, he said,
“Lloyd had suffered an injury in the previous over, and Kapil came to me and said, ‘He is stuck in the crease and cannot move, just bowl a little away and force him to drive.’ I did precisely that and Lloyd was gone.”
Roger Binny after dismissing West Indian Clive Lloyd during the 1983 Cricket World Cup final
In the league stage match against West Indies, he dismissed wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon, Clive Lloyd, and Vivian Richards which helped India to defeat West Indies for the first time in the World Cups. He then took 3 for 27 against Zimbabwe which India won by 31 runs. In that match, he holds the crucial partnership of 60 runs for the sixth wicket along with Kapil Dev. It is said that Kapil Dev’s 175 runs wouldn’t have been possible without that partnership. In an interview, he recalled,
“What I remember most clearly was that I had no time to relax at all that time! Normally, after we finished training and the first two batsmen went on, I would go to the canteen, pick up a tea or coffee and watch the first few overs, relaxing and sipping whatever beverage it was. But on that day, I barely picked up my tea and came back, to find that we were already two down! I actually had my training clothes on at the time. As I ran to change, the third wicket fell. Before I could get my pads on, the fourth had fallen! We were nine for four, and then 16 for five when I walked on. I was batsman number 7. My mind was a blank: I had not planned anything and had no strategies chalked out. Kapil Dev was still there when I went on. I still remember the first words he told me: ‘Just stay around!”
In the next match against Australia, he scored crucial 21 runs and took 4 wickets which earned him the ‘Player of the Match’ award. Then came the semifinal where he took 2 wickets and helped India to reach the finals.
Roger Binny at the reunion of the 1983 World Cup on 25 June 2008 during its 25th anniversary along with Sunil Gavaskar, Syed Kirmani, and Yashpal Sharma
Latter Phase
His first performance with the bat came against Pakistan at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Madras (now Chennai) in September 1983. India was 85 for 6 at one stage when Binny came out to bat and had a crucial partnership of 155 runs along with Madan Lal. He scored 83 runs which helped India to score 275 runs in the first inning. The match ended in a draw. Against the strong West Indian line-up in 1983-84, he dismissed Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, and Vivian Richards thus ending his spell with 3 wickets for 18 runs in 6 overs. He then scored 39 runs in Kanpur, 32 in Delhi, 65 in Mumbai, and 44 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). In the 1985-86 World Series, he took 4 for 35 in the opening match followed by 1 for 33 against England, 3 for 27 against Australia, and 1 for 28 against New Zealand in the semis. However, he missed the final game due to injury. He finished the series as the second-highest wicket-taker behind Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and second-best bowling average after Joel Garner. He had the best Test match bowling performance against England in Headingley in 1986 when he took seven wickets in both innings and helped India to win that match by 279 runs. Later in the 1986 tour of England, he was impressive with four wickets at Lord’s and 5 for 40 at Leeds with an important wicket of Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb. He then scored 40 runs against England in Edgbaston in the third test. His career-best performance came against Pakistan at Eden Gardens (Kolkata) in 1987 where he took 6 wickets for 56 runs. However, despite that performance, he could only bowl three more overs in his Test career. Due to an ankle injury, he missed the fourth Test at Motera. He was then selected for the 1987 Cricket World Cup where he could only play one match against Australia on 9 October at Chennai. There he took one wicket of the Australian captain Allan Border. After that performance, selectors preferred Manoj Prabhakar and Chetan Sharma ahead of him to assist Kapil Dev as an opening bowler. He retired from international cricket in 1987. However, he continued to play domestic cricket until 1992.
Post-retirement
After retiring, he became the coach of the India Under-19 team that won the World Cup in 2000 under the leadership of Mohammad Kaif. In 2009, he was appointed as the coach of the Bengal team in a Ranji Trophy. He also remained the national selector of the Indian cricket team in 2012.
Roger Binny as the national selector of BCCI
In October 2019, he became the President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
Controversies
Nepotism Controversy
He was highly criticized for nepotism and favoritism when his son Stuart Binny was selected on an Indian side when Roger was the selector. However, he revealed that every time a decision to take Stuart came on, he went out of the room and let other selectors decide.
Facts/Trivia
- His son, Stuart Binny is also a right-handed fast-bowling all-rounder who holds the Indian record for the best bowling figures in ODIs taking 6 wickets for 4 runs against Bangladesh in 2014.
- It is also said that Roger Binny’s ancestors are from England.
- On 24 December 2021, a Bollywood movie named ’83’ was released which is based on the success story of India winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup. In the movie, Nishant Dahiya is portraying the role of Roger Binny.
Nishant Dahiya as Roger Binny