India clinched the Test series against Sri Lanka by defeating them by record an innings and 53 runs in Colombo and everyone is expecting this level of performance in the last match of the series, also visitors have to play a 5 ODI’s and a T20I against the hosts.
Unlike the test, India’s limited overs squad is quite tricky to predict and there are few obvious names which make you think about them, Suresh Raina is the leading name in the buzz. But why? Here are 4 reasons which probably answers this why:
Here are the 4 reasons which probably answers this why:
1.) Vacancy available! :
India’s inconsistent middle order is the topic of discussion among cricket pundits. The team has been experimenting with Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey and veteran Yuvraj Singh on number 4 in last few series. But since all of them have failed to justify their place, someone like Suresh Raina can be a potential replacement in the team. Even though Dinesh Karthik certainly has shown some glimpse in the domestic season this year and also against West Indies in the last 2 encounters, the inclusion of Raina will strengthen the lineup even more.
2.) Capable number 4:
Raina is always unlucky when it comes to his batting position, even former captain MS Dhoni stated once that Raina had to play in no. 6 just to make the right balance of the team; otherwise he can be a good middle order batsman and score heavily there. The southpaw smashed 6 fifties and a ton with an impressive average of 45 on coming second down, surprisingly which is much higher than his career average. His ability to score quickly and solid technique against spin completes him for the required position.
3.) Best in fielding:
Something which never went wrong for Raina, it has to be his fielding. He is one of the best fielders in the world. He won the best catch award of IPL season 9 and 10 consecutively and there is nothing different for him in international cricket. So even if he has an ordinary day with his bat, he averagely saves 10 runs for the team. Fitness is the key for fielding and in spite of being out of the action from a long time he is working on his fitness a lot, recently Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted and appreciated Raina for his intense workout video.
4.) Handy part-timer:
Suresh Raina was Dhoni’s favorite part timer when it comes to completing the fifth bowling quota for the team in limited overs format. His niggard off break bowling in the middle overs becomes useful to take off some pressure from strike bowlers, especially against a left-handed batsman. Also from past few series, Ravichandran Ashwin not being the part of India’s regular playing eleven in limited overs, Raina’s cunny spell will be a crucial leg up for the skipper to form a better team.
