Heard of Rewa - a city in the north-eastern part Madhya Pradesh. It is the former capital of the princely state of Rewa and the former state of Vindhya Pradesh. The city lies about 420 kilometres (261 mi) northeast of the state capital Bhopal and 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of the city of Allahabad. Rewa derives its name from another name for the Narmada River.
Way back in June 1986 in Test no. 1047 – India was on a high – in that test at Leeds India won by 279 runs as Indian bowlers skittled out England twice for 102 & 128. Chetan Sharma was injured and S Madanlal who was playing minor league was drafted in to the eleven…………….. it was the unlikely hero Roger Binny who had figures of 13-1-40-5 and 8-1-18-2 – the wrecker-in-chief. Madanlal took 3 for 18 in the 1st while Maninder 4 for 26 in the 2nd… those days Binny was hailed as India’s overseas player as he could bowl well in overcast conditions but was ordinary on subcontinent wickets though he took a 6 for against Pakis at Calcutta.
The team for NZ tour has been announced……………. Pragyan Ojha who did not get a solitary game to play is dropped out of Test team and in his place comes Ishwar Pandey – who ? The Test squad is : MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishwar PandeyFor the ODIs – Yuvraj Singh, Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav are dropped and in comes – Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny and Varun Aaron. The team for One dayers is : MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny, Varun AaronAfter leading the wicket-takers' list in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy, Pandey has played 12 first-class matches this season - two each against South Africa A and West Indies A, and eight in the Ranji Trophy. He has taken 45 wickets in those, with two five-fors, including 11 wickets on the tour to South Africa. Until the 12th standard, Ishwar Pandey - son of a retired Subedar Major in the army - had no business with serious cricket, let alone fast bowling. But a chance visit to a selection trial changed his life forever, and with India call-up, the 6-feet-2-inch man from Madhya Pradesh has taken a giant leap. A product of MRF Chennai, Pandey, 24, has received maiden call to the Indian Test and ODI squads for the tour of New Zealand. He played for Pune Warriors in the last IPL.
The hero of that Leeds match was Roger Michael Humphrey Binny – once a commentator said – with this name he deserves to be playing for England !!!! – now his son, Stuart Binny, a medium-pacer and middle-order batsman capable of getting quick runs when needed, gets a chance as an allrounder – it is a coincidence that Roger Binny is in the selection committee.Varun Aaron played the last of his four ODIs in December 2011, in the home series against West Indies. He impressed then with his speed and in fact has bowled the fastest delivery in National cricket but has been hampered by injuries. Remember he played in that test against West Indies at Mumbai which ended with scores equal (a draw still). Aaron and Ashwin played the last over…. Yuvraj had a woeful home ODI series against Australia in October, scoring 19 runs in four innings, and now has been dropped. Ojha should feel unlucky – dropped to beef up the pace attack …. Zaheer, Ishant did not excel but are still there. The batting line-up is the same…………. Hoping that in New Zealand India does well this timeWith regards – S. Sampathkumar
31st Dec 2013.
