Published 18:06 IST, September 27th 2019
Suresh Raina wonders why MS Dhoni was sent down the order in the semis
Suresh Raina has questioned the decision of sending MS Dhoni down the order in the semi-final against New Zealand after India had lost their top-order position
Suresh Raina was at a time, one of Team India's most reliable limited-overs batsmen. He had played some crucial knocks in the quarterfinals against Australia and in the semis against arch-rivals Pakistan during India's glorious World Cup triumph in 2011. Later, the pacers went on to expose his vulnerability against the short ball as a result of which his performance was impacted and the selectors were forced to look beyond him. Suresh Raina had last played for India against England in July 2018 following which he was left out of the national side. Now, the southpaw has come forward and questioned the reason behind MS Dhoni being sent.
Raina questions MSD's batting order in the semis
Suresh Raina had one question about his Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni and that was about his batting order during India's heartbreaking semi-final defeat against New Zealand in World Cup 2019.
"Had he (Dhoni) come earlier, he could have guided Pant and then we still had Pandya and Jadeja. Even then he kept India in the fight till the very end and we would have won but for the direct hit from Guptill,", Raina was quoted as saying to The Hindu.
In that crucial game, Dhoni had come out to bat when the Men In Blue were tottering at 71/5. Chasing a modest target of 240, the Kiwis had India on the mat at 5/3 and then 24/4. Dhoni scored a 72-ball 50 and looked set to take India to their fourth World Cup final. However, a direct hit from Martin Guptill in the penultimate over ended his stay in the middle and also dashed India's hopes as they went on to lose by 18 runs.
Suresh Raina on MS Dhoni's future
Suresh Raina believes that former skipper MS Dhoni had a lot of cricket left in him and that he can prove to be a worthy asset for Team India in the 2020 World Cup. Suresh Raina said that MS Dhoni was still a terrific wicketkeeper and hailed him as the best finisher. 'Captain Cool' has been on a break ever since India crashed out of the World Cup following the loss to New Zealand in the semi-finals. While he recused himself from the tour of West Indies, the former skipper also chose to extend his break till December, giving the South Africa tour a skip. All eyes are now on MS Dhoni to see if he returns to action in December when West Indies tour India.
Updated 18:57 IST, September 27th 2019