Suresh Raina did all 'difficult things' for Team India: Rahul Dravid
Aug 18, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 18 : Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid feels Suresh Raina did all the "difficult things" like batting lower down the order for Team India.
His remark came as Raina announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a 15-year-long career.
Dravid, who was the skipper of the Indian team when Raina made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka, said that the left-handed batsman's numbers could have been better if he had batted higher up the order.
"Suresh Raina was one of those really young exciting talents who've come through the Indian system. Sort of in the middle of the 2000s, 2004-05, playing Under-19 cricket, doing exceptionally well and you could see even at that time that Suresh was going to be a very important player for India," Dravid said in a video posted by BCCI Twitter handle.
"The way he raised the standard of fielding, one thing you always felt that Suresh did all the difficult things for India, you know batting lower down the order honestly his numbers could have been a lot better if he'd batted higher up in the order," he added.
Dravid said that when Raina batted at number 3 for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he possessed a phenomenal record.
"The success he's had for CSK in the IPL where he bats at No. 3 and has an absolutely phenomenal record. He's one of the phenomenal players of the IPL in the last decade or so," said Dravid.
"But for Indian, he batted lower down the order for most parts of his career, fielded at difficult positions, he bowled some very handy overs," he added.
The 33-year-old Raina played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is for India. Besides his batting records, each time Raina was on the field, the opposition was always reluctant to run when the ball used to go to him, and the cricketer rarely missed any catches.
Always chirpy and bubbly on the field, he has been a team man. The left-handed batsman scored 5,615 runs in ODI cricket with an average of 35.31. He also 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.
