Batsmen should be able to bowl, it helps team: Raina
Dec 08, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 8 : Former India cricketer Suresh Raina said that it is important for a batsman to be able to bowl and for a bowler to be able to bat as it helps the team a lot.
Raina said when a batsman can bowl, then the captain has more options to choose from, and ultimately, it helps the team.
"When we used to play in our village, at that time, apart from batting, we also had to bowl, otherwise, we could not find a place in the team. When you bowl, the captain also gets an option. Sachin paaji bowled, Viru bhai took a lot of wickets and Yuvi helped us win the World Cup with the momentum," said Raina at the launch of the FrontRow app.
"It is important for any captain if a batsman can chip in with 4-5 overs. So, it is very important for a batsman to be able to bowl and for a bowler to be able to bat, it is always useful for the team," he added.
Raina had announced his retirement in August this year. The 33-year-old played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is for India. He is also the first Indian batsman to register centuries in all three formats of the game.
The left-handed batsman scored 5,615 runs in ODI cricket at an average of 35.31. Raina registered 768 runs in the longest format of the game with his highest score being 120.
In the shortest format of the game, Raina scored 1,605 runs at an average of 29.18. He was also a part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad and the batsman had played crucial knocks in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the tournament.
