Roger Binny becomes 36th President of BCCI: The former India cricketer is an all-rounder in true sense

Binny
(67)
succeeds
former
India
skipper
Sourav
Ganguly
as
his
three-year
term
came
to
an
end.
Binny
is
the
only
cricketer
in
the
BCCI’s
administration
panel
while
the
rest
of
the
members
have
a
political
background.

The
former
India
all-rounder
–
who
was
part
of
the
1983
World
Cup-winning
Indian
side
–
has
donned
various
hats
in
the
past.
He
has
become
the
first
player
from
the
champions
from
1983
to
be
elected
as
the
full-time
head
of
the
BCCI.

The
Roger
Binny
saga
begins
in
BCCI

He
was
serving
as
the
head
of
the
Karnataka
State
Cricket
Association
(KSCA)
before
filing
his
nomination
for
the
BCCI
president
and
has
been
elected
the
board
president
unopposed.
His
elevation
as
the
BCCI
chief
makes
him
the
most
powerful
person
in
world
cricket.

Before
Binny,
the
BCCI
had
only
two
other
Test
players
as
full-time
presidents
in
the
past
i.e.
Sourav
Ganguly
and
the
Maharajkumar
of
Vizianagaram
(1954-56).
However,
former
cricketers
Shivlal
Yadav
and
Sunil
Gavaskar
served
as
the
board
presidents
briefly
on
an
ad-hoc
basis.

Binny
–
son
of
a
railway
guard
–
is
a
very
popular
figure
in
the
Anglo-Indian
community
in
Bengaluru
and
was
the
first
Anglo-Indian
of
Scottish
origin
to
play
cricket
for
India.

Binny
had
also
served
as
a
member
of
the
national
senior
selection
committee
of
the
BCCI,
but
in
2015
he
was
removed
due
to
a
conflict
of
interest
as
his
son
Stuart
Binny
was
part
of
the
national
side.

He
had
previously
served
as
a
member
of
the
KSCA
before
taking
over
the
reins
of
the
state
body
in
2019.
He
took
over
the
office
at
a
critical
time
when
KSCA
was
hit
by
a
spot-fixing
scandal
in
the
state
league
Karnataka
Premier
League
(KPL).

Earlier
this
year,
the
state
association
successfully
organised
a
renewed
domestic
T20
cricket
league
titled
‘Maharaja
T20
League’ and
Binny
gets
the
credit
for
that.

International
Cricket
Career:

The
right-arm
pace-bowling
all-rounder
has
played
27
Tests
and
picked
up
47
wickets
between
1979
and
1987.
In
72
ODIs,
he
played
between
1980
and
1987,
Binny
bagged
77
wickets.

However,
his
biggest
achievement
came
during
the
1983
World
Cup
where
the
seamer
bagged
18
wickets
in
eight
innings.
He
was
the
leading
wicket-taker
in
the
showpiece
event.

Two
years
later,
Binny
proved
his
performance
in
the
English
summer
in
1983
wasn’t
a
fluke
when
he
emerged
as
the
leading
wicket-taker
in
the
1985
World
Series
Cricket
in
Australia.
Binny
claimed
17
wickets
in
the
tournament
and
played
a
vital
role
in
Team
India’s
title
triumph
Down
Under.

A
successful
coach:

Binny
tasted
another
World
Cup
glory
in
15-years
later
when
India’s
U-19
team
went
on
to
win
the
U-19
WC
under
his
watchful
eyes.
Binny
was
the
coach
of
the
Mohammed
Kaif-led
India
colts
which
created
history
in
South
Africa.
He
even
wanted
to
become
the
head
coach
of
the
national
men’s
team
but
the
board
appointed
John
Wright
for
the
job
in
2000.
He
has
also
worked
in
the
past
with
a
few
Ranji
teams.

A
genuine
‘all-rounder’

Binny
was
a
complete
athlete
in
a
true
sense
as
he’s
played
hockey,
and
football
and
even
holds
the
record
in
Bangalore
Schools
Under-18
javelin
which
he
set
in
1973.
He
has
even
claimed
that
his
experience
in
other
sports
helped
him
become
a
better
cricketer.