One of Indian cricket’s recently discarded men seems to have a big hill to climb if he wants to get back to the squad. Suresh Raina, who up until recently was a mainstay of the Indian team, is fighting a battle to get his place back.
Here are five challenges that he faces in order to get back:
Fitness issues:
Probably something we would have never associated with Suresh Raina at one point in time, fitness seems to be the biggest agenda at the moment. The batsman is known to be one of the best fielders in the world but now needs to work on getting himself fitter.
Raina is putting in the hard work as is seen in his social media accounts. However, his inability to pass the yo-yo test means he has to put in some more to get back to the top.
Short ball:
One of the biggest shortcomings in Raina’s game was his weakness against the shorter ball. On multiple occasions, bowlers were able to get him to nick or pull one to a fielder. Raina has worked hard on trying to tackle the issue but still has a bad reputation against the delivery.
Raina fell to the shorter one quite a few times even during the IPL and he knows that bowlers will be looking to pitch one in all of a sudden. If he can tackle it, he can surely find his way back.
Age:
Age is a factor that cannot be handled but in Suresh Raina’s case, he is already 30. He is in his prime as a cricketer but not in his career. Raina needs to understand that in a couple of years, his decline could begin and this is probably his last chance.
The World Cup is looming on the horizon and Raina will need to give it his all if he wants to get back to the team.
Right position in the team:
At the moment, the Indian team is filled with superb talent in almost all the positions. The only spot that does look vulnerable at the moment is the number 4 one that has been vacated by Yuvraj Singh. Suresh Raina does favour the number 5 or 6 position but will find it hard to prise it away from Jadeja or Hardik or Kedar Jadhav.
Raina must accept that this is one of the hardest points in his career as a professional and the only thing he can do is bide his time and wait.
Settle for less:
One thing that Suresh Raina could do is maybe settle for less and accept that the ODI team is a little far-fetched. He could focus on one format in which he is one of the best in the world that is T20. It is a challenge but Raina could focus on playing T20 more.
The more T20 he plays, the better he can get and then maybe use that form to force his way back. Either way, it is hard, but if there’s one player who can pull it off, it is Suresh Raina.
We hope he defies all odds and make a strong comeback.
By Rohit Nair
