Suresh Raina is one of India's most decorated cricketers. He won the ODI World Cup with India in 2011 and was an important part of Team India as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK). After calling time on his illustrious international career in 2020, Raina has also moved on from India's domestic cricket stratosphere, more recently turning out for the India Maharajas in the League League Cricket (LLC) Masters.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, Raina was all praise for the current India skipper Rohit Sharma and believes that the opener has all the Dhoni-esque attributes to help him win the ODI World Cup at home.
"Rohit definitely has the Dhoni factor. He has been a very successful captain in the IPL. He has won the trophy five times. Rohit can take big decisions like Dhoni did because he has a lot of experience captaining teams. These 12 months are very important. He has an astute leadership quality and we should make it to the top four and if we do, then no one can stop us from winning the trophy," Raina told Sports Tak.
See the full interview here:
At the same time, Raina is wary of India's lack of bowling all-rounders. He took the example of the World Cup-winning squad and how many of the top-order batters like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar could also bowl if necessary. Sharing his thoughts on this, Raina took the example of Deepak Hooda and said that he wants to see Rohit make better use of Deepak Hooda.
"The all-rounder factor can be brought in by Deepak Hooda. He can be used as a floating bowler. He is also a brilliant fielder. India will have a spin-friendly wicket as well and that will suit him.
More recently, Raina caught up with sidelined wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who met with a major accident at the end of December and is out of action for the foreseeable future.
He spoke about his interaction with Pant and the major decision he took after the meeting. "I met Rishabh Pant when I went to do commentary in Mumbai recently. He looks very strong. The way he told about the accident. Since then I have thought about keeping the driver. That's why I also stopped driving the car."
"I agree that Team India has suffered a huge loss due to his absence. But at the moment he is in a good space. Want to thank BCCI. The way they have handled Pant's treatment. The way his mother, his sister, and his family have helped him. It is amazing. At such a time, family support is needed. According to me, he will make a strong comeback whenever he returns to the field," he added.
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