Time to show some character: Suresh Raina
Indian middle order batsman feels its time that men in blue show some character
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-08-24 02:01 GMT
Chennai: He is fresh and raring to go. Indian middle-order batsman Suresh Raina feels it’s time for the men in blue to show some character in the five-match ODI series starting on Monday. With the Test team battered and bruised, Raina said the team has to move on from defeats and fight it out. “The new players will bring freshness in the squad which will help the guys who have been here for the Tests regain the positivity. They are striving to learn from their mistakes and we will add fresh spirit,” he told BCCI.tv
The 27-year-old southpaw, who led India in the ODI series against Bangladesh prior to the England tour, said that he has been practising a lot with taped tennis balls so as to simulate the movement that would prevail in England. Before departing for the ODI series, the Uttar Pradesh lad had a few words with Sachin Tendulkar on how to tackle conditions in England. “I was in Mumbai working at the BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) indoor facilities. Sachin paaji came there to play badminton and since Arjun practiced in the nets there, he came to give him some tips. I had a lot of conversations with him mainly on the mental side of things.
“I also worked with (Pravin) Amre sir there at the BKC on various aspects of my batting,” he added.“I practiced in Delhi, Noida on a turf wicket and played a few matches in rainy conditions. I went to the Lucknow sports college where I stayed in the boarding school as a kid and practiced there a lot,” Raina said. In addition to this, Raina has also taken a word or two from former India skipper Sourav Ganguly regarding his batting.
“Being a leftie he guided me on things like arm position and other subtle technical things. However, most of it was about the mental makeup when batting in England,” he said. Skipper M.S. Dhoni has used Raina as a floater on most occasions. Raina has been very open about his desire to bat higher up the order in the 50-over format. He felt that batting at No.4 and No. 6 doesn’t make much of a difference as two new balls have become a rule. “With two new balls around, I will get more or less a new, harder ball to face. In that way the ODI skills have become much more similar to Test skills.
“The good thing now is that even when batting at No. 6, I don’t have to bat with tailenders or protect them because this lower order can really bat. Another important aspect of batting at that position is the powerplay overs. It has been a tricky area,” he said. A specialist with the bat when it comes to handling situations in powerplays, Raina believes that teams often lose wickets in a heap in an attempt to go hard at everything.
“We have been trying to read it over the years and planned as to how to go about that phase. It is very important to have at least one set batsman during the batting powerplay.“He needs to carry the score forward while allowing the man at the other end to get in,” he added. Another aspect of his game which Raina wants to improve is his off-spin bowling. There have been numerous instances of Dhoni going to Raina during powerplay in the IPL for CSK. How seriously has Raina taken his bowling given that he has been used more as a part time offie?
“I know I will be called upon to bowl 4-5 or even more overs and I am prepared for it. The good thing is that I have been bowling regularly in the ODIs. I know that my role with the ball is mainly to contain the runs and I try to stick to it,” he added.