'If there's a problem, you say it on my face' - Suresh Raina on selectors not communicating with senior players

Suresh Raina, in a recent Instagram live session, had raised an important issue involving the communication gap between selectors and senior players. Raina, who last donned the Indian jersey way back in 2018 against England, had revealed that selectors didn’t give him the reason behind his exclusion from the national side.

Raina has been sidelined from the national squad for a while now and his knee injury in 2019 worsened his comeback woes. He had to go through a surgery which derailed his return to the game and he had to stay away from the sport for almost a year.

Raina has been trying his best to come back into the national squad and in his quest to mark a return, Raina had pointed out selectors’ inefficiency in communicating with senior players. According to Raina, every player works hard and it’s the responsibility of selectors to inform the reason behind a player’s exclusion.

In a recent interview with FanCode, Raina opened up about his relationship with players and selectors. He revealed that senior players have always supported him. Raina also said that there have been many good selectors like Dilip Vengsarkar and Kiran More, who used to communicate well with junior as well as senior players. According to Raina, he would prefer if a selector points out the problem directly on his face.

‘Selectors should be more professional’: Suresh Raina

“I feel somewhere communication should have happened, I’ve been saying that. Senior players have supported me, the selector isn’t in my hands. There have been many great selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar supported the players, Kiran More sir, there were many good selectors who used to communicate with players, be it a junior or senior,” revealed Raina.

“A selector has a right to tell face to face, I would prefer that because I’ve learnt it from my father and MS Dhoni. You say it on my face, if there’s a problem, I will solve it,” he added.

Raina also rued about him being sidelined from the national side at the moment. He pointed out that he doesn’t have a problem with any player but his main issue is when a selector isn’t professional enough. If a player gives so much to his country, he has the right to get his questions answered, according to the Uttar Pradesh batsman.

“Virat told me to improve my fitness, I did it, that’s why he made me play. Rohit always knew my talent. I don’t have any problem with any player, but as a selector, they should be more professional. I am not targetting anyone, I am just saying that sometimes you give so much to the country, you work so hard, stay away from the family, I personally think we should get answers to these questions,” said the left-hander.