5 promising Indian players who are likely to lose the No.4 race for World Cup

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina made his international debut way back in 2005 and became the mainstay in the Dhoni era. He has batted most of his career in the lower middle order and played a number of pivotal cameos throughout. But his form post the 2015 World Cup diminished drastically. Raina was last picked in the ODI team 7 months ago in England where he scored 47 runs in two innings. Surprisingly, that was the only ODI series he has played since October 2015.

Raina has fared well at number four. In 18 innings he has 6 half-centuries to go with a hundred. But the short ball has been his chink in the armour and the shortcoming is now exposed to every bowler up against him. Moreover, his ball clearing ability has diminished as his strike rate in the IPL is on a constant decrease in the last three years. At the moment Raina’s career in the national team looks finished, but his cameos in the knock-outs of 2011 World Cup will remain treasured.