India's ODI XI in Virat Kohli's debut match: Where are they now?

#2 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina came in at 1 down during Kohli's debut ODI match. The aggressive left handed batsman has an impressive ODI record. In the 226 50-over matches he has played, the 32-year-old has scored 5615 runs with an average of 35.31.

The Muradnagar-born player has also been a vital component for 3-time IPL Champions Chennai Super Kings. He has been with the Men in Yellow since 2008 besides the 2016–2017 season when he played for the Gujarat Lions. Raina also had the opportunity of lifting the 2011 World Cup Trophy and was an important cog of the Indian team in those years.

Known mostly as a world-class finisher and his cameos down the batting order, Raina is still on and off in the Indian national team. With players like Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul coming to the fore, his opportunities have been limited in the recent past.

One of the most dangerous middle-order batsman India has produced, Raina is working tremendously hard to cement his place back in the national team. The selectors for the 2019 World Cup would have him on their radar despite the competition being intense for the limited spots. Raina has played some decent knocks for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy and hit two fifties in his last 3 innings.

The prodigious batsman is also an effective right-arm off-break bowler in tricky situations. He will leave no stone unturned to try and make it back at the helm once again.