Talking about Dhoni’s smart moves, Raina went down memory lane to recall MSD’s decision when he promoted the southpaw in the batting order to improvise in their World Cup match against Pakistan in 2015.
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni (L) looks on as Chennai Super Kings cricketer Suresh Raina raise his bat after hitting a half century (50 runs) during the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on May 11, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA)
Expressing his trust in the decisions made by former India skipper MS Dhoni, out-of-favour batsman Suresh Raina said that he never doubted Dhoni’s call.
Talking about Dhoni’s smart moves, Raina went down memory lane to recall MSD’s decision when the Ranchi lad promoted the southpaw in the batting order to improvise in their World Cup match against Pakistan in 2015.
Dhoni’s decision proved right as Raina scored a quickfire 74 off just 56 balls to help India reach 300 runs in 50 overs. The Men in Blue eventually won the match by 76 runs.
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“I never questioned his decisions. I remember I was having a sandwich or something during our match against Pakistan in World Cup 2015. Suddenly after 20 overs, he said ‘pad-up’. I padded up. Virat (Kohli) was batting really well and this happened just a few overs before Shikhar (Dhawan) got run out. So I got out in the middle, played a few shots and scored 70-80 runs,” said Raina in a YouTube interview as quoted by Times Now.
“After the match, I asked him why did you send me up the order? He said, ‘I thought you will play better against the leg-spinner who was bowling at that time’. He also praised me for my batting. So I also want to know what goes on in his mind,” he added.
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