SWOT Analysis of the Indian fast bowling unit for the tour to West Indies

Stuart Binny:

Stuart Binny has shown sparks of brilliance now and then and is surprisingly the holder of the best bowling figures for an Indian in ODI’s with his figures of 6 for 4 against Bangladesh and yet, his numerous limitations including the lack of pace make him ineffective on dry and slow tracks. At the most he can play the part of a third seamer looking to take some pressure off the two main seamers and restrict scoring on one end.

Binny feels that these are exciting times for him but contrary to his beliefs, I think his bowling ability relies a lot on the pitch conditions and while bowling on an unfavorable track, the firepower required to extract wickets is missing from his repertoire. India could perhaps benefit more from a specialist seamer adding to the two main seamers and 2 spinners thus completing the bowling attack. It is hard to see a permanent spot opening up for Binny in the future.

The all-rounder though is content with his bowling abilities and has full faith in his chosen brand of pace bowling which has fetched him a combined 183 wickets in the first-class and List-A formats. He relies on swing bowling as his weapon. Perhaps a good performance in West Indies will boost his chances but considering his limitations, Binny has to ensure he makes his batting performances count too.