5 surprise inclusions in the Indian side for the New Zealand ODIs

#1 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina has managed to find his way back into the Indian team

Suresh Raina has been one of India’s finest limited-overs batsmen in the past decade or so and has won the team many laurels with some terrific performances. The left-hander is particularly known for his prowess in the 50-over game, a format in which he has scored over 5000 runs.

Raina’s ODI career received a big jolt last year when he lost his place in the team following a string of poor performances in the 5-match home series against South Africa. The Uttar Pradesh cricketer continued to be part of the Indian T20I team but was not considered for the ODI series against Australia in January this year.

He also did not feature in either of the limited-overs Indian teams during the tour to Zimbabwe. So it is definitely a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, that Suresh Raina has been included in the squad for the ODI series against New Zealand.