Stuart Binny has earned his spot: Rahul Dravid
Calling the criticism of Stuart Binny’s selection in the Indian Test squad for the 5-match series against England starting next month as ‘unfair’, former Indian batsman Rahul Dravid has said that not much can be made of the failures of the young Indian batsmen in the just concluded One Day International series against Bangladesh, citing the short duration of the tour and the intermittent rain showers during the match.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Dravid said, “In the end, it's just two games. It's too small a sample size to really judge from. Those two wickets weren't exactly great, especially with the rain and all those covers there. India got out for 105 and the opposition got out for 58. It was a good experience for batsmen who have sometimes grown up on flat wickets in the subcontinent.
“Sometimes when you come up in conditions that are slightly more difficult and challenging, you have to readjust and recalibrate scores that you think are par for the course, which maybe India, who batted first on both occasions, didn't do as well.”
Although India won the series 2-0, they were bowled out for 105 in the second ODI and managed only 119-9 in the third, before a rain intervention abandoned the match. 105 was India’s lowest total against Bangladesh, and, though India managed to win the match, batting seemed to be a major area of concern.
With the England tour as their next assignment and the World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand, wherein they have to tackle even more challenging conditions, the struggles of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu, the team’s first choice players, remains an area of concern.
When asked about the critics labelling Stuart Binny, who earned his maiden call-up to Test team, as unfit for the longer format, the 41-year-old, who has previously captained the Karnataka all-rounder while playing for the IPL side Rajasthan Royals, said: “He has earned the right to be in the Indian side having helped Karnataka win three titles last season.
“In Tests, if India wanted to play two spinners, maybe there might be a Sanjay Bangar kind of role for him - not at the top of the order, but maybe down the order. Sanjay played that role for us in England in 2002.”
Coming into the team for the second match against Bangladesh at the cost of off-spinner Parvez Rasool, the 29-year-old, making full use of the assistance that the pitch offered for the pace bowlers, delivered a record-breaking performance to end up with figures of 6-4, the best performance by an Indian bowler in ODIs, beating Anil Kumble’s previous best of 6-12.
Dravid denied that a couple of low scores in Bangladesh will have a negative impact going into the England series, saying: “I think the quality and intensity of your practice matches and the quality and intensity of your practice sessions leading into the first couple of Test matches are very important. I always felt they were critical to success abroad, so I wouldn't worry too much about this one-day series but focus on getting the first 14-20 days right in the Test series.
“If they do that, get onto a bit of a roll, the batsmen get some confidence, time in the middle, I think you will see them have success. I don't think any Test wicket will be the kind we saw in Bangladesh.”