Suresh Raina

When Yuvraj Singh was dropped from the Indian team sometime back, he had commented that his replacement does not have the same potential (the replacement under question being Suresh Raina), who however, has consistently shown that he has indeed taken the mantle of the middle order on his shoulders, as he consummately displayed the responsibility with a scintillating knock of seventy odd runs against the Aussies at Kochi and left then awestruck.

After Yuvraj suffered injuries, since then Suresh Raina has taken over slowly but in a determined manner. Yuvraj Singh was a specialist fielder of the covers, and now it is Suresh Raina along with Murali Vijay who lords over it, while Yuvraj is somewhere in between. Yuvraj needs to understand that he does not have the same pair of legs that he had more than 10 years ago, besides he has put on weight.

The sense of being lost was written on his face while he was batting in the Indian innings, and even after going back to the dressing room, he kept on muttering about it.

In comparison Suresh Raina is as lively and humorous on the ground as can be possible and he has more arrays of shots in his repertoire as of now as compared to Yuvi. Yuvraj has now become more of a nudge and push player, rather than going in for the aerial route, which Suresh Raina seems to have cultivated for himself. Raina, demonstrated his skills consummately in the test series as well, where he was instrumental in providing solidity to Indian batting when the occasion demanded, and also chipped in wickets with his bowling as well.

Raina had to face criticism for his approach to cricket, but after he was drafted into the test team, his whole batting has transformed and he has evolved into a complete player, who knows when to pace his innings and give it direction. He has been doing it for quite a long time, and he needs to thank his captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni for the same, as there are not two doubts about the fact that he has really blossomed under Dhoni.

He has proved his mettle on the fast tracks in South Africa as also on the slow tracks in India that he is indeed the star for the future and one thing is for sure that the Indian middle order is now in the safe pair of hands, and Indian cricket indeed has glorious days ahead.

Tags: Cricket, India, Indian Sports, Mahinder Singh Dhoni, Middle Order, Sports, Sports India, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh