Twelve years back, Stuart Binny made his first-class debut for Karnataka. He got out for a duck in the first innings, didn’t bowl in both innings but returned to score 54 with the bat in the second innings. In the years to follow he would be in and out of the domestic side, strive to find his feet, rack up the runs and wickets in the domestic circuit, earn an IPL contract and later find himself donning the Indian blue and whites. In 2015, he is one of the key members of the World Cup squad and as India captain MS Dhoni puts it - He is the best seam all-rounder in India at the moment. For Binny, the journey to the World Cup has been incredible. “It is something that I dreamed of as a school boy,” Binny tells us. “You have to come up the ranks, play in every tournament right from the junior ones till the A tournament. To finally get a break in international cricket and play the World Cup is amazing. “I just didn’t want to be someone who played international cricket. I want to be someone who could come and compete in international cricket. I am still looking to cement my place completely in the Indian setup but it has been a brilliant journey for me from playing Ranji Trophy for Karnataka to playing for India in the World Cup.” Binny and his father, Roger, have a lot in common. Both bowl seam, bat lower down the order and in a kind of firsts, Binny Jr. is representing the national side in the World Cup to follow in his father’s footsteps of winning the World Cup in 1983. The mention of that victory brings a smile on Stuart’s face. “I wasn’t even born during that World Cup. I only watched it growing up on a VCR. I didn’t realise how big an achievement it was until I was 10 years old. “Then after I grew up, I had a lot of people to tell me about it; especially my father’s old teammates who played with him. They would often tell me what a special moment it was and how hard they had worked to win the World Cup. I am very proud to have a father who has done it and it is a special feeling for me and my family to be playing the World Cup.” Even though he had a cricketing legacy behind him, Stuart claims cricket wasn’t his first choice. “To be honest I never thought about playing for the country when I was young. It was about playing all sports since I came from a family that played a lot of sports,” he says. “My father was a hockey player and a javelin thrower and always encouraged me to play a variety of sports. “I started off playing hockey in school and the school team pushed me into playing cricket. Slowly I started enjoying the game and took it up seriously. Soon I was playing U-13 for Karnataka and started seeing all the international cricketers at the Chinnaswamy stadium and that’s when I got a feeling of becoming like them,” Stuart reminisces the time he fell in love with the game. So when did his father begin to take notice of his game and give vital inputs? “Probably when I was 15,” Stuart replies. “It is the time when he helped me, especially with my bowling. I used to bat in the top order for my school and open the bowling there. It became a natural choice for me to become an all-rounder. I didn’t try and copy my father; it is just that the school I was in needed me to bowl and bat. “When you are 15, those are crucial times when you start developing as a cricketer. Your body starts to become stronger when you start to bowl and your pace starts going up in the next three to four years.” It is a wonderful story. Stuart believes he has worked hard over the years and is confident of a good show this World Cup. “Personally I am confident that I will go out and do well this World Cup. I have liked what I have seen so far in Australia. The atmosphere and the pitches here suit me a lot more than what I get in India with bat and ball. It is a great platform for me to go out and showcase what I have got. I have got nothing to lose and I am here only to gain from this World Cup. “I had to do well all my career and I know I can’t afford to have off days. At the same time I realise that I will have off days. But there is no pressure on me to perform. This is what I did to get here and I’ve just got to continue doing it. “I came in with the reputation of having done it before, just that the stage and the event is big now. I have fired there and I have got to fire here. I enjoy my cricket and look to go out there and play with a smile on my face. I am sure it will come off well,” Binny says, revealing his simple approach to the game. February 15 is going to be a big day for the 22 Indian and Pakistani men taking field at the Adelaide Oval, and the millions watching it on the TV set. Binny, like everyone else, is looking forward to it.“I am really looking forward to the game. All our preparations and all our practice matches are leading up to that one game. We have all worked hard for this one game and this one tournament for the last couple of months. It has been a tough couple of months for us but we have put it behind us. Our best cricket is yet to come in this tournament and everyday as a team we sit down and speak about one thing and that is achieving a goal - the goal of winning this World Cup.”