Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Karnataka Drops Out-Of-Form Stuart Binny

Karnataka has dropped its out-of-form allrounder Stuart Binny for their upcoming Ranji Trophy fixture against Maharashtra, which gets underway in Mysuru on Wednesday.

The out-of-favour India allrounder flopped in both of Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy games thus fur. In two games, he managed to score only 54 runs and picked up just one wicket before the team decided to take a big call. Prior to that, Binny had also underperformed in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In two games of country’s premier 50-over tournament, Binny scored just one run and claimed one wicket.

Selection committee chairman Raghuram Bhat confirmed the news. He also made it clear that the selectors would consider him only if he regains his form.

“Binny is out of form. We don’t want his rough patch (from the Vijay Hazare Trophy) to continue throughout the season. He should practise and get back into the groove, and then we will consider him for selection. But he’s not out of the system. We will require his services when he’s in form,” said Bhat.

Another player who missed out of the squad is Shishir Bhavane. On the other hand, young batsmen Devdutt Padikal and Abhishek Reddy made it to the team.

On picking Devdutt over Bhavane, Bhat said, “Bhavane was struggling. Devdutt is in form, and he’s a brilliant fielder. This season, we have been monitoring youngsters closely; we want to give in-form players a chance.”

Vinay Kumar, who missed the previous match due to an injury, will lead the side.

The squad for Ranji Trophy game against Maharashtra:

Vinay Kumar (Captain), Shreyas Gopal (Vice-captain), D. Nischal, K.V. Siddharth, Kaunain Abbas, Devdutt Padikal, B.R. Sharath, J. Suchith, A. Mithun, Prasidh Krishna, Ronit More, Abhishek Reddy, Pavan Deshpande, Sharath Srinivas, Liyan Khan