Stuart Binny becomes 4th oldest cricketer to make Test debut for India

Stuart Binny

With his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge, Stuart Binny has become the 281st cricketer to represent India in Test cricket.

Early years

Despite being born to a former Indian cricketer, his journey till now has by no means been smooth. He has had to overcome a lot of difficulties in his cricketing career so far, and the fact that he has done so is a credit to him.

He lost his way in 2007 when he signed up for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). While his performances in the ICL were good, his time there meant that he was not eligible to play for the national team.

After quitting the ICL in 2009, he came back into the fold and started playing for his state, Karnataka, in the Ranji Trophy. He slowly started establishing himself in the Karnataka side with strong performances with both bat and ball.

He also got his 1st substantial opportunity in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Rajasthan Royals in 2013 and became a key component of the franchise through his consistent performances. His years of hard work finally paid off when he was called up into the ODI squad for the tour of New Zealand in February 2014.

?4th oldest cricketer to make Test debut for India

His father, Roger Binny, also played Test cricket for India and was the 148th player to do so. With Stuart’s debut, they have become one of the few father/son combinations to have played Test cricket for India.

The Karnataka all-rounder’s Test debut has come at the age of 30, very late by Indian standards. In India, if you don’t make your debut by the age of 27-28 at most, you’re said to have missed the bus. Giving credence to that theory is the fact that the 30-year old has become the 4th oldest cricketer to make his Test debut for India.

Here is the list of the ten oldest Indian cricketers to make their Test debut:

Player	Age	Opposition	Start Date
Robin Singh	35y 23d	v Zimbabwe	7 October, 1998
Saba Karim	32y 362d	v Bangladesh	10 November, 2000
Sameer Dighe	32y 161d	v Australia	18 March, 2001
Stuart Binny	30y 36d	v England	9 July, 2014
Subramaniam Badrinath	29y 160d	v South Africa	6 February, 2010
Sanjay Bangar	29y 53d	v England	3 December, 2001
Robin Singh	29y 1d	v New Zealand	2 January, 1999
Romesh Powar	28y 363d	v Bangladesh	18 May, 2007
Abey Kuruvilla	28y 210d	v West Indies	6 March, 1997
Sairaj Bahutule	28y 71d	v Australia	18 March, 2001