Suresh Raina reveals he was hurt on being dropped despite performing well
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Suresh Raina has stated that despite performing well in the domestics competitions, he was devastated after being overlooked for the national side. The left-hand batsman has also expressed his confidence in doing well during the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa.
Raina made his international ODI and T20I debut in 2005 and 2006 respectively and was one of the core members of the limited-overs squad for almost a decade. But a low phase in his career started when he was dropped for the Australia tour in 2015. Despite making some useful contributions of 34, 7, and 63 in the T20I series against England in January last year, he was dropped for the tours of Windies and Sri Lanka and has not featured for the National team since then.
"I was hurt on getting dropped even after performing well. But now I have cleared the Yo-Yo test and feeling so strong. During all these months of hard training, the desire to play for India again grew only so much stronger," Raina told Aaj Tak.
"I won't leave it here. I have to play for India as long as possible. I have to play the 2019 World Cup because I know I have done well in England. There is still a lot left in me and I am extremely confident of doing well in these three games in South Africa."
The 31-year-old was picked for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa and he claimed that the shortest format of the game will be very crucial for him as it has given him a chance to make his international comeback after over a year. The middle-order batsman also stressed the importance of this series as he is hoping to regain his place in the 50-over format so he can represent India in the 2019 World Cup. The first T20I game of the series will be played on February 18 in Johannesburg and ahead of the match Raina who featured in 223 ODIs and 65 T20Is says he feels like a debutant again.
"Yes, I am 31 but, as they
"My family became my biggest strength during this trying time. I played a lot of domestic cricket and focused on clearing the Yo-Yo test too. I worked really hard on it at the NCA. I have always been fit during my entire career but it is just that at a time you get down injuries or niggles and that hampered the preparation to clear the test."
For a long period, Team India has been in the search of perfect No. 4 position player in the limited-overs game and apart from Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian side gave a chance to Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, and Kedar Jadhav. Raina offered his name for the place and claimed he can easily perform in that position and can help the side in tricky situations.
"If you talk about the No 4 slot in the ODIs, it is not an easy one to bat on. Most of the time the team is in a tricky situation when the No 4 comes to bat, especially while chasing. One needs to attack, change the gears constantly. I personally feel that the No 4 and 5 slot suits more to my style of batting," said Raina.
