According to Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina was a “terrific team man”. He stated that Raina could have amassed more runs if he had batted up the order. Dravid saluted Raina for the role he played in India’s success in white-ball cricket.
Raina surprised his fans and fellow cricketers when he followed MS Dhoni into international retirement. He announced his decision a few minutes after the former India skipper on August 15.
“A lot of success that India had in white-ball cricket, a lot of great moments and memories that India had over the last decade and a half, Suresh has been a really big part of that. I think his contribution in white-ball cricket has been fantastic,” Dravid said in a video. BCCI had posted this video on its twitter handle.
“He is a World cup winner and Champions Trophy winner. He contributed so much on the field, his energy, the enthusiasm he brought, the way he raised the standard of fielding.
“One thing we always felt is that Suresh did all the difficult things,” said Dravid, who is the current NCA chief.
“For most part of his career, he batted lower down the order. He fielded at difficult positions and bowled some handy overs and always brought a lot to the team. A terrific team man, who always gave his best, brought great energy to the game and a very skilful batter.
“Honestly his numbers could have been a lot better if he had batted higher up the order, that has been shown in the success he had for CSK (Chennai Super Kings) in the IPL where he bats at No. 3.” He has been a phenomenal player for IPL.”