Fresh from his match-winning century in the Cardiff ODI, Suresh Raina was happy to talk about the process of introspection and self realization he went through after being dropped from the 2014 Asia Cup.
Raina spoke about how he analyzed his game and sought advice from various coaches and senior players to enhance his temperament.
“I was very hurt when I was dropped from the Asia Cup squad,” Raina said. “I analyzed my game and realized that I was batting well in general but was getting out for 30s and 40s too often. It was the lack of concentration.
“I played some domestic matches and had a good IPL. I sat with my coaches and spoke to many people about what I need to do to score big runs in overseas conditions. My concentration level has improved a lot now and my hunger has doubled up. I realize that as a senior batsman I need to take more responsibilities,” he said.
Raina said the road to redemption also comprised chatting with a lot of fellow left-handers. He also spoke about his gradual understanding of batting at No. 5.
“I have spoken to a lot of left-handers in the recent times,” he said. “Gary (Kirsten) was a leftie and so is Duncan (Fletcher). I interacted a lot with Mike Hussey at CSK and spoke a lot to Gautam (Gambhir) in Delhi.
“I have learnt over the years how to bat with the tail, batting at No. 5. It is a crucial position from where you can control the game and also take more responsibility.”
Raina admitted the loss of Rohit Sharma will be felt as the opener has gone home with a broken finger, but also insisted the team has several good options for his replacement.
“Opening the batting in England is a challenging job. Unfortunately Rohit got injured but we have many other good options in Sanju Samson, Ambati Rayudu and Vijay is joining the team too,” Raina said.
