KSCA president Roger Binny wants to put KPL issue behind and take Karnataka cricket forward

He was one of Kapil’s Devils that had gone on to win the cricket World Cup in 1983, stunning the formidable West Indies in the finals. Roger Binny has been a notable name associated with India’s cricketing history — as a player, coach and an administrator.

The 64-year-old took over as the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in October. And just when he was thinking of taking Karnataka Cricket to new heights, Binny had to grapple with the fixing scandal that has hit the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) hard.

Roger Binny recently spoke to Cricbuzz on issues related to the scandal that have also seen arrests of some of the big cricketers and expressed his views on the reputation and future of Karnataka cricket and what the future holds for the T20 tournament.

When Binny was asked that the fixing scandal overshadowed Karnataka’s recent exploits in domestic cricket, which includes winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments, he called it sad and wanted to get over the KPL issue fast.

Roger Binny disappointed KPL remained in headlines despite Karnataka winning two white-ball crowns

“It’s sad because there is so much publicity given to this. They have played some fantastic cricket to win these two tournaments, the kids. But it is important that we finish up with this KPL issue and then take things forward. Our next step will be to win the Ranji Trophy. The only issue is that a lot of the players are going to be away on national duty, which is a good thing overall.

We couldn’t brush the KPL under the carpet despite these two fantastic wins. We will celebrate with them later when everything settles down,” the former all-rounder said. When the KSCA president was asked about his two-month tenure, he said the breaking of the news on the KPL was alarming for it was unprecedented. He then hoped that the young cricketers were not indulging in such practices but the ones who are approaching the end of the road.

Nevertheless, he called it a shame for the entire state. He said none of the great players that Karnataka has produced in the past remarked on the issue but added that it’s something that they had to take in their stride. “It has already happened, we have got to sit down and see that it doesn’t happen again. We need to take things forward and make sure that kids don’t get into this sort of a situation again,” Roger Binny added.

Binny also cautioned that even though the KPL was seen as a tournament that would provide an opportunity to the younger players, it is to be seen whether the tournament should continue after the fixing mess.

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