We need to take Duleep Trophy seriously, says Suresh Raina

The discarded Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has stressed the importance to take Duleep Trophy, the domestic first-class tournament in India. The matches of the tournament are being played in the Day-Night format for the second time this year with the pink ball as a trial for the Test matches. India Red have already made it to the final as their match against India Blue ended in a draw. Now the winner between India Green and India Blue will storm into the final battle for the title.

Raina who is currently leading India Blue side is vying for his return in the national team. The selectors ignored him for the first three ODIs against Australia and with Duleep Trophy set to be played until 29 of this month, the chances are slim he would get an opportunity to feature in the last two ODIs of the 5-match series either. However, the batsman is hopeful of making it back in the side as India will play more cricket in the limited-overs format against New Zealand and Sri Lanka over the next couple of months.

Groundsmen did a fabulous job

The four-day game between India Red and India Blue was marred by the constant interruptions due to rain. But Raina complemented his team for delivering a fabulous performance against the table toppers. He also believed that the result could have been affected in case there was no rain.

“As a player, you always want to play and entertain the crowd. “We need to take Duleep Trophy seriously. The ground was good, but we could not play. Credit to the groundsmen who did a splendid job,” Raina said. He also said that the First class cricket was the foundation for the budding cricketers.

He believed that the under-16 or under-19 tournaments too have a role to play in the overall development of the cricketers. “We grew up playing all types of cricket, the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy, Cooch-Behar, under-16, under-19 etc. Every event is relevant,” he added.