In an interview, Suresh Raina revealed that MS Dhoni, his former teammate and captain, was the toughest bowler he faced in the nets during his playing career.
In the fourth and final part of his interview on Home of Heroes on JioCinema, Raina, the former Indian batter, was asked about the toughest bowler he had faced. Raina mentioned that Dhoni, the current skipper of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was hard to face in the nets.
The former southpaw said that the CSK skipper would poke fun if you had gotten out to him and would bowl a wide variety of deliveries ranging from off-spin to medium pace. Raina also said that if Dhoni had the chance to bowl in a Test match, the 41-year-old was ready to take it and was able to swing the ball well in England.
“I think Muralitharan and Malinga, but in the nets, it was MS Dhoni. If he got you out in the nets, then you’d not be able to sit with him for one and a half months because he’d keep gesturing and remind how he got you out. He’d bowl off-spin, medium pace, leg spin, everything. In the nets, he would even justify his front foot no-balls (laughs). Wherever he’d get a red cherry in a Test match, he’d go for it. In England, he’d swing it full throttle,” Raina said.
Dhoni bowled for the first time during ODIs when he decided to turn his arm over against the West Indies in the Champions Trophy 2009. He produced a beauty with the ball sharply nipping back in and had Travis Dowlin’s stumps shattered. Dowlin turned out to be Dhoni’s first and only victim till date in ODIs.
Raina and Dhoni have shared a great bond both on and off the field. They have been teammates in the Indian cricket team as well as the CSK franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhoni, in addition to his wicketkeeping and batting skills, is also known for his occasional bowling in the nets during practice sessions. He has often rolled his arm over and bowled in the nets, showcasing his versatility and contributing to the team’s preparations. This camaraderie between Raina and Dhoni has been evident throughout their playing careers.
Notably, India’s veteran all-rounder Raina has opened an Indian restaurant in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
