Retired southpaw had technical limitations, but was always a sincere trier, loyal contributor for India and thats what endeared him to ex-skipper Dhoni
India's MS Dhoni (right) and Suresh Raina celebrate a South African wicket during the second ODI at Indore in 2015. Pic/Getty Images
Suresh Raina played a majority of his international cricket under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
ADVERTISEMENT
After Dhoni quit the Test captaincy on the Australian tour in 2014, Raina could play just one more of his 18 Test matches.
And he managed just three more ODIs and a few T20I games after MSD quit white- ball captaincy in January 2017.
Thus, much of Raina's fortunes on the cricket field were linked to the solid support he got from Captain Cool. Therefore, it was not much a surprise when things went downhill for the elegant southpaw once Dhoni quit as skipper. Neither did it come as a surprise when he called a halt to his international career minutes after MSD quit at 19:29 hours on Independence Day.
Also Read: Don't think any other captain would be able to achieve what MS Dhoni has: Gautam Gambhir
High on confidence
Despite Raina's technical limitations, the good thing was that he never lost confidence in his ability and was always a sincere trier and a loyal team man. And that's what endeared him to Dhoni.
For MSD, he was always a game-changer, who could turn around a match with a brilliant run out, a superlative catch or a swashbuckling knock.
Raina was quintessentially a batsman who flourished in white-ball cricket. The shorter the format, the more dangerous he was with the bat. Yet, he is one of the few Indian batsmen to have scored a century on Test debut. At that time, it seemed India had found a reliable batsman in red-ball cricket too. But soon it became apparent that he had technical flaws; the biggest being tackling short-pitched deliveries. Thus, as his career progressed, he became more of a white-ball specialist.
Raina played 18 Test matches, scoring 768 runs at 26.48 with 120 on debut v Sri Lanka as his highest. However, his record is much better in ODIs with 5615 runs @35.31 and five centuries and in T20I with 1605 runs at a strike rate of 135, with one century.
Whatever his shortcomings, he had the honour of being the first Indian to get centuries in all three international formats: Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
The turning point in Raina's career came in the 2011 World Cup. After he was benched in the initial stage, Dhoni brought him in place of Yusuf Pathan. He responded by assisting Yuvraj Singh in a successful run-chase in a high-pressure game against Australia, making 34 from 28 balls.
Crucial knock v Pakistan
In the semi-final against Pakistan, he batted with the tailenders to score a crucial, unbeaten 36, a significant contribution to India's total of 261. India went on to win the World Cup, though Raina did not get a chance to bat in the final, as Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni finished off the Sri Lanka challenge with a flourish. Thereon ,he became a regular in Team India.
Raina's high point came in the 2015 World Cup match against Zimbabwe at Auckland, where he made an unbeaten 110 and with Dhoni (85 not out), put on a match-winning partnership of 196 after initially being in trouble. That cemented their relations further. But, after Dhoni quit as captain, Raina's appearances become scarce. However, that cannot be termed as the only reason, as injuries, lack of form and family commitments came as major setbacks for Raina.
Without doubt, Raina owed much of his success to the support his captain lent him. Thus, it was no surprise when MSD retired from international cricket, it took Raina just a few minutes to follow suit.
Keep scrolling to read more news
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
