Suresh Raina hits back at Yuvraj Singh for MS Dhoni 'favouritism' comments

Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh recently described Suresh Raina as MS Dhoni’s favourite player. He believes that every captain has a certain favourite player in the side and in MS Dhoni’s case, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman always backed Suresh Raina's selection. Interestingly, Raina was a regular member in the Indian team until MS Dhoni retired as India's ODI and T20I captain at the start of 2017. Moreover, Suresh Raina also plays under the leadership of the 2011 World Cup-winning captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Suresh Raina contradicts Yuvraj Singh’s claims

While speaking to FanCode, Suresh Raina admitted that while MS Dhoni has always supported him, it is because the wicketkeeper believes in his abilities. Raina further stated that he has also helped his captain during his leadership stint for the Indian team and continues to do so for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL. The left-hander also revealed that MS Dhoni is someone who always gives a verbal warning to players after a few failures. Suresh Raina later admitted that while he has also been on the receiving end of such MS Dhoni pep talks, he manages to convince his captain that he will not be repeating the same on-field mistakes again.

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Suresh Raina expressed his happiness on being part of the 2011 World Cup team and thanked MS Dhoni for having faith in him. Raina claimed that the veteran believed in him and in turn, he delivered some good performances during the latter part of the tournament. He also hailed his CSK skipper by describing him as the “greatest captain” India has ever had after Sourav Ganguly.

Yuvraj Singh’s comments on Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni

Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni were all part of India’s victorious campaign at the 2011 World Cup, with each playing pivotal roles at some stages of the quadrennial event. While making his ‘favouritism’ comments, Yuvraj Singh cited the example of how the then captain preferred his CSK teammate in the Indian team ahead of Yusuf Pathan for the knockout matches of the tournament. Singh claimed that at the time Yusuf Pathan was playing well while Suresh Raina was not in good touch with the bat.

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