Indian batsman Suresh Raina has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand. The batsman didn’t play in the first three ODIs as he was recovering from viral fever. The BCCI in its release said that since he had not regained his fitness, he was ruled out of the remaining two matches. BCCI further said in the release that the team that played the first three matches was retained.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has decided to retain the same 14-member squad for the remaining two matches of the five-match ODI Trophy against New Zealand,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“Suresh Raina is still to regain his full fitness and has been ruled out of the remainder of the series,” it added.
It is a big blow for Suresh Raina. Suresh Raina has not played an ODI since last year. The last match he played was against South Africa. This was a great chance for him to play well and cement his place for ICC Champion’s Trophy to be played next year. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to play due to his illness.
New comer Kedar Jadhav is already proving himself as a middle-order batsman who can bowl. Jadhav has taken 6 wickets in this series. He is a handy bat. He scored 41 in second ODI when the chips were down. He couldn’t steer the team to win, but he showed promise. If Jadhav keeps performing well, Raina’s return for Champion’s Trophy would be a tad difficult. After Jadhav’s stellar performance, he could be preferred over Suresh Raina, who will need time to settle in the team.
The team is as follows: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav.
