INDIAN MIDDLE-ORDER batsman Suresh Raina is happy to renew his fruitful association with India A coach and ex-cricketer Rahul Dravid.
Raina, who was in Bengaluru on Monday as part of the India A practice sessions, said, “Dravid was good with youngsters like me, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan and others when he was the captain. He gave all of us a lot of confidence, and I’m definitely happy to work with him again.”
India A will be taking on Bangladesh A in the first of the three 50-over games at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on September 16. Raina, who was part of the senior team that lost to Bangladesh earlier this year, said the visitors cannot be taken lightly at all.
“I can’t really say that this ‘A’ series will give us good practice matches because we (senior team) have lost a series to Bangladesh recently. India ‘A’ have done well in the last couple of series, and we need to continue the good work,” he told The Hindu.
A positive cricketer, Raina has learned to take everything in his stride. The 28-year old is happy to represent India A, calling it a ‘learning experience’.
“It’s all in the mind. I’m happy to play a few good practice games with players like Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Kuldip Yadav and Unmukt Chand. I can learn something from them,” he said.
Raina has also been named in the 30-man probable list for the senior team’s forthcoming South Africa series. When asked about the opponent team's strong aaway record, the cricketer said he doesn’t want to look too far, and believes in focusing on the present.
“Let us focus on the positives of what we have achieved just now. We won the Test series in Sri Lanka.”