‘This is why we won 2007, 2011 World Cup’: Raina compares his era with current batch, underlines area of focus for India
Suresh Raina pointed out the reason behind the team's poor show in the previous edition of World T20st, which was played in UAE and Oman last year.
Suresh Raina may have gone unsold in the Indian Premier League mega audition but his legacy as one of India's finest middle-order batter remains solid. The left-handed batter, who announced his retirement from international cricket, was a key player in both MS Dhoni-led World Cup-winning squads in 2007 (T20 World Cup) and 2011 (ICC 50-over World Cup).
_1642949435101_1644820302707.jpg "Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (left) MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina (right)(Reuters/Getty Images)")
In a recent interaction with The Indian Express at Idea Exchange, the veteran cricketer made interesting observations about the current setup and also pointed out the reason behind the team's poor show in the previous edition of World T20st, which was played in UAE and Oman last year.
Raina explained the availability of multiple players, who could bat and as well roll their arms, as one of the main reason behind their triumph in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, citing the examples of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and himself.
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"I think this is why we won the 2007 World T20, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. When I started in Ranji, I remember our coach Gyanu bhai (Gyanendra Pandey) would always tell us, ‘you should bowl.’ It gives a captain the ability to get in eight-ten overs if he has a sixth or seventh bowling option, when he is playing only five bowlers. That is good planning."
“So you see Viru paa (Sehwag), Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and me, including in the 2011 World Cup, all would bowl,” said the veteran cricketer.
He was quick to add the lack of sixth bowling option in the current setup, which he feels is the main reason behind the team's poor show in UAE last year. Team India had then made a first-round exit from the T20 World Cup, which also saw the Men In Blue endure a crushing 10-wicket defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan.
“When we lost in the Champions Trophy (2017), or even recently in Dubai (in the T20 World Cup), we did not have a sixth bowling option. Now Shreyas Iyer is working on his bowling, I think he should keep working hard. Rohit will have a good option then.”
“In the South Africa series, recently, Aiden Markram was bowling six-eight overs upfront, and the main bowlers were coming in later. This is a big factor for the Indian team. Suryakumar Yadav can bowl as well. Even Rohit would bowl before his injury. So someone will have to step in, and bowl at least six-eight overs regularly in nets,” he further stated.
Raina further suggested that the batters should put in extra efforts to contribute to the side with the ball.
“Batsmen should definitely work on their batting but they need to come in early or stay back for half an hour for the nation (to bowl a bit in the nets). They will have to like that process. Once you start liking it, you will not go away without bowling five-six overs,” said the former Chennai Super Kings batter.
