India batsman Suresh Raina made a decent comeback to the Indian team after a year.
The southpaw bagged a Man of the Match award, as his innings of 43 off 27 in the series decider, clinched the match for India. Eventually, India won the T20I series by 2-1 against South Africa.
Raina was promoted to number 3 position and he didn't disappoint the management. Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has called the Uttar Pradesh cricketer a fearless player.
"He's vastly experienced and he showed what experience can do. What I liked the best was he was fearless," Shastri told India Today.
"What I liked was the intent because normally when you come back into a side after a long period of time you can be playing for your place. And that can put added pressure on you. But he went out there as if he was never out of the side and batted in that fashion. It was very good to see," Shastri said.
India has not shaped up their T20 team yet. Raina's addition in the team has surely made a difference. The 31-year-old is considered as a limited overs specialist. He scored runs in the recently concluded series with a strike rate of 153.44.
Raina had last played for India on February 1, 2017, before getting a chance again in 2018. The left-hander will be playing tri-nation Nidahas Trophy, starting from March 6.
He will be playing his natural game in the available opportunities. "I always play for the team and if we are winning trophies, individual performances will look after themselves. Whatever opportunity I get I look to play my natural game. I enjoy the team support and it helps improve my game," Raina said.
Raina is eyeing the ODI spot as well with his T20I comeback. "It is important to win a trophy first and important to go out there as a team mindset. If you see the top order, they are all batting well. When you come to the middle order, MS (Dhoni) is there and Manish (Pandey) is also doing a good job.
"So we will see where I can fit in. There are a lot of matches coming up now. Winning games is more important than being which format I am playing or not. Every Indian game is very important for me right now."
(With PTI inputs)
