Successful Binny looks to the future with hope

Roger Binny has developed an affection for the Anna International Terminal at Chennai. Every time he has left from the airport for a tour as coach of an Indian side, he has returned without losing a match. First it was Sri Lanka with the Under-19 side. And now Malaysia with the Under-15 side.

Speaking exclusively to CricInfo from his residence in Bangalore, Binny glowed with pride. "We basically were a cut above the rest. The boys played good positive cricket and that, as you can see, paid rich dividends." The best of his praise was reserved for Hyderabad's opening batsman Ambati Tirupati Rayudu. "He plays his cricket hard. When he's out in the middle, he doesn't mess around. Going for his strokes from the beginning, he consistently hits the ball hard" said Binny of the lad.

When asked about the fact that the captain, Subhash Dixit did not really perform to expectations, Binny replied "He chipped in. There were some useful contributions from him, but most of the time it was not required."

When reminded that Mohammed Kaif, the captain of the Under-19 side that won the World Cup against also had an indifferent series in Lanka, Binny was quick to say "The captain's role is not really that crucial at the Under-15 level. Especially in this series, we won every match with ease."

One did imagine however, that Pakistan would provide more of a fight. "When we played them the first time around we batted brilliantly against them. We were 70/5 and yet a solid partnership between Abhinav Kumar and Nikhil Choudhury saw us post a good total. When we played Pakistan in the final, we knew that any score over 150 would be a winning total."

Looking to the future, Binny was pensive when India's perennial problem was raised. The Indians do consistently well in age group cricket and yet, they seem to struggle at the highest level. Was this because coaching levels were not high enough in India "If you take a country like Australia, youngsters have access to very good coaches. Over here, the situation is completely different. Many of the boys in the Under-15 squad have not had exposure to professional coaches. As a result their basics are not always hundred percent correct. When the fundamentals have flaws, it tends to show up some time or the other."

Would the National Cricket Academy (NCA) be able to address these issues? "It's still early days in the NCA. We do have a professional set up in place and that should make a big difference. The best of these youngsters will be drafted into the NCA in the coming years and then they will be able to fine tune their game. Although they all know how to play the game, these kids need to make small changes that will make all the difference at the highest level."

Would the NCA be in a position to groom a future leader of the national side? "Well, we are concentrating on fitness and the basics right now. In time, a captain will emerge. There are experienced coaches in the NCA and the kids are sure to pick up a lot in their stints at the academy."

Well, one can only hope that he is right. So far, success has come his way with ease. Whatever he is doing, he is obviously doing it right. Perhaps the time has come to throw the 45-year-old former Indian all rounder Binny in the deep end, and put the senior national side in his hands. Going by the experiences of coaches that have come and gone, some would say that's throwing him to the wolves!