Suresh Raina believes his time will come

Suresh Raina was hit with a huge blow when his name was not included in the Indian squad for the 5 match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Raina was hopeful of making it into the team but will now have to go through the grueling domestic schedule again to script his comeback. The likes of Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav got the green signal ahead of the experienced cricketer who played his last ODI back in 2015.

Suresh Raina had a brilliant campaign in the iconic 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the willow in hand but his team Gujarat Lions failed to live up to the expectations as a bunch. However, Raina has made it clear that he is not disappointed on facing rejection once again and strongly believes that his time will come.

What Raina had to say:

“I’m not disappointed at all. I’m just looking to enjoy the process. When you achieve success, there is no shortcut you can take. My time will come. I have been working really hard. I’m enjoying my game. That’s what is in my control. I’m not thinking about what others are doing. My job is to practice and work hard. Whenever I get an opportunity, I will be looking to grab it with both hands,” said Raina, who will be playing for Uttar Pradesh in the Buchi Babu tournament here.

Raina’s last T20 international came in the month of February earlier this year. He smashed 63 runs against England and followed it up with a stellar IPL stint. The batsman said that he has rectified his mistakes and he is looking forward to executing them successfully on the field.

“I don’t want to sit back and rest on what I have done in the past. It’s important to live in the present and look forward. I have corrected the mistakes which I was committing. It’s time now to execute them on the field,” Raina said.

Raina will be leading the India blue side in the upcoming Duleep Trophy and it will be a massive platform for him to answer the national selectors. “Every game, every session from now on is important. Everything I am doing is with full enjoyment. I will be playing the games here on 2nd & 3rd and 5th & 6th. After that, I will go for the Duleep trophy,” he added.

“In the middle order, you need more games and more time to settle down. Most of the time, you just have 15-odd overs to bat. You need to be given a few series and then see what you can do. Middle order is one place where you can’t experiment too much. You need to able to assess the situation and finish games. It is very important to know your strengths and know your game for success,” Raina said.

Raina went to praise MS Dhoni‘s performance in the Sri Lanka series. “Dhoni has been batting really well. He is looking very calm and working really hard. Around Virat Kohli, he can definitely share his experience. He has made a seamless transition.” concluded Raina.