Suresh Raina had scored 180 runs in eight matches before he was dropped for the ODI series in Australia. (Express photo by Partha Paul) Suresh Raina has been handed another opportunity by the MSK Prasad-led selection committee to cement his place in the Indian ODI team. Raina, recalled to the 50-overs format after a year, will __have three matches against New Zealand to convince the selectors and team management.
A middle-order vacancy facilitated his return, as the new selection committee picked a 15-member squad for the first three matches. Shikhar Dhawan’s left-thumb fracture and KL Rahul’s right hamstring injury meant that they were out of equation, ensuring Ajinkya Rahane’s promotion to the opening slot. The Mumbai batsman will be the first-choice opener along with Rohit Sharma, while Mandeep Singh has been picked as a backup. Gautam Gambhir’s name was discussed but Prasad said:
“We needed continuity and we groomed Mandeep as an opener. He did extremely well against Australia A Down Under.”
The 24-year-old Punjab batsman scored a couple of half-centuries (56 and 95), opening the innings, during the 50-overs leg of ‘A’ team’s tour in Australia in August-September. Before that he had a 40-ball 52 not out at a T20 international in Zimbabwe.
Coming back to Raina, he had scored 180 runs in eight matches before he was dropped for the ODI series in Australia earlier this year. In the home ODIs against South Africa that preceded the overseas assignment, the left-hander had made 68 runs in five games.
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Problems against the short ball affected Raina’s progress in Test cricket. The ODI form slump took him out of his comfort zone. Only 41 runs in four innings in the World T20 earlier this year attested his struggles in the shortest format as well. Raina is still only 29, so it would be inappropriate to say that this is his last chance saloon. But with Manish Pandey now a certainty in the 50-overs format, and players like Karun Nair knocking on the door, the Uttar Pradesh left-hander should embrace consistency. The chief selector said Raina’s part-time spin was a reason for his recall. But the player himself would certainly be happier to make an impact with his batting.
The BCCI had informed MS Dhoni beforehand about the continuity, while asking him to attend today’s meeting. Yes, the selectors are still not looking beyond him as far as limited-overs captaincy is concerned. India, however, had lost ODI series against Bangladesh and South Africa last year and another one against Australia earlier this year. And the upcoming five-match series against the Kiwis, starting October 16 at Dharamsala, could be important for Dhoni’s captaincy future.
India still __have 11 more Tests to play in a long home season, and looking at it the selectors decided to rest R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami.
Squad: MS Dhoni (C), R Sharma, A Rahane, V Kohli, M Pandey, S Raina, H Pandya, A Patel, J Yadav, A Mishra, J Bumrah, D Kulkarni, U Yadav, M Singh, K Jadhav
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