Jan 18: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has thrown his weight behind allrounder Stuart Binny's selection in India's World Cup squad. "Irrespective of all the debate, the best seam allrounder in India has been picked," Dhoni said ahead of India's Carlton Mid ODI Tri-series opener against Australia on Sunday.
Binny's inclusion, ahead of Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa and Murali Vijay, has been the talking point of India's 15-man squad for their ODI title defence. But Dhoni says the Karnataka man has been included keeping the Australian and New Zealand conditions in mind.
"We are playing a few games in Perth and New Zealand, where we felt the last time there wasn't much purchase for the spinners," Dhoni was quoted by the official BCCI website. "That's where Stuey may come in. Irrespective of all the debate, the best seam allrounder in India has been picked."
Binny's graph, both as a bowler and batsman, has been up and down. But Dhoni says he doesn't expect a full quota of 10 overs from his allrounder.
"He is an exciting player - he bats aggressively and is a good bowler. If he gives me six to eight overs, it's more than enough," the skipper said.
Team coach, Duncan Fletcher, too has supported Binny's inclusion, though he stays nervous about the place of an allrounder in India's eleven.
"That's one area [seam-up allrounder] that makes me a bit nervous," Fletcher told the official BCCI website. "What we need in these conditions [in Australia and New Zealand] is a good batting allrounder who bowls seam. That will add depth in our batting and give us that extra bowler," the Zimbabwean, who is expected to leave his coaching job after the World Cup, said.
"That is the real reason why we have Stuart Binny in the squad."
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