Bangalore: With 2019 World Cup in mind, the Indian selection committee Saturday brought back veteran left-hander Suresh Raina in the ODI squad for the England tour, in place of Ambati Rayudu, who had failed his fitness test.
The 31-year-old Raina, a seasoned campaigner of 223 ODIs with 5,568 runs under his belt, is a part of the current T20 squad. He beat an in-form Rishabh Pant due to his vast experience. Raina last played 50-over format in 2015 October and is making a comeback after 32 months.
Former India players Aakash Chopra and Deep Dasgupta both felt that Raina is a good choice.
“If the team management is looking at a short-term goal – that is the World Cup in England next year, Raina is a good choice. Also if Hardik Pandya is your fifth bowler, then one among the top six would need to roll his arm over. Raina’s handy off-breaks would help the team. Rishabh was a contender but then you already have MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik in the side,” Chopra opined.
Dasgupta asserted that a left-hander is a must in the middle-order and it could have been Raina or Krunal Pandya but the UP left-hander scored because of his experience.
“I think apart from Shikhar (Dhawan), I would love to see another left-hander. It could either be Krunal or Raina but the latter has more experience. My logic is that each and every team would have a leg-spinner in their side. So a left-hander for me in middle order is a must,” said Dasgupta.
“It is an added advantage that Raina is a handy bowler. But had Kedar (Dhawan) been fit, the selectors wouldn’t have possibly looked anywhere else,” Dasgupta added.
Rayudu’s YoYo test failure has come as a shock for many, especially after a successful IPL campaign (602 runs) with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Rayudu scored a dismal 14 in the test with qualifying mark being 16.1.
It has been reliably learnt that team management and selection committee were ‘not on the same page’ with regards to Rayudu’s possible replacement.
“There is a section in BCCI which even feels that Ajinkya Rahane’s limited overs case has not been handled well by the selectors and the current team management (skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri),” a senior BCCI official told this agency, Saturday.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who had taken permission from the BCCI to skip the June 15th YoYo test, will appear for the same at the NCA here Sunday, informed BCCI GM (cricket operations) Saba Karim.