Suresh Raina, former India batsman, insisted that it’s important for batsmen to play their part with the ball for benefitting and lending team’s balance.
Suresh Raina, who was a part-time bowler himself said having multiple part-timers lends versatility and balance to every team. Still, India are currently lacking it with only likes of Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja accustomed to bowling and no top six batsmen like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Shikhar Dhawan bowling part-time.
Suresh Raina: Important For A Batsman To Bowl And A Bowler To Bat
India is playing without a sixth bowling option who can roll his arm over and be a partnership-breaker, in recently concluded limited over series against Australia as all-rounder Hardik Pandya is playing mostly as a specialist batsman except bowling in 2nd ODI where he had figures of 1/24 in 4 overs where other bowlers went for plenty.
“It is very important for a batsman to bowl and a bowler to bat, it’s is always useful for the team,” Raina said at the launch of the ‘FrontRow’ app.
“It is very important for any captain that a batsman chips in with 4-5 overs and just slows the proceedings before your best bowler is back in the attack,” he added.
The 34-year-old, who himself bowled part-time off-breaks in his days, said former batting greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh all would regularly bowl for the team which helped in maintaining a balance of the side.
“Sachin paaji bowled, Viru bhai took a lot of wickets. Yuvi paaji helped us win the World Cup with the momentum,” Raina said.
In his days, apart from likes of Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Kaif and Gautam Gambhir who were primarily batsmen, part-timer bowlers were Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan who contributed to team’s cause by chipping in with wickets when needed.
Kieron Pollard, Joe Root and Chris Gayle are some part-time bowlers in international cricket who contribute with ball besides batting.
Suresh Raina: Lucky To Fulfil Dreams To Play For Country
Suresh Raina featured in 18 tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is and he was a vital member of limited-overs with his fielding, part-time bowling and of course bats.
“When we used to play tournaments in the villages, to be in the team, we had to bowl alongside batting otherwise we weren’t selected. Fielding had to be good as we didn’t know if we’d get a chance to bat or not. Bowling is arduous, no one likes to do it. But then the captain gets a choice that this player can bowl,” he added.
“I have been lucky to fulfil my dreams and play for the country at the top level. Over the years, I have learnt many things on and off the field which would give an edge to any aspiring cricketer.”
The FrontRow is a platform, where top celebrities from various fields come together and put together comprehensive video lesson-based courses at accessible and affordable prices. Suresh Raina said he is delighted to share his experience with the younger generations.
“FrontRow has given me a platform to give back and share this knowledge so that others can realise their cricketing dreams as well,” he said.
The first set of sessions have been already made available on the platform which includes modules by veteran Suresh Raina, star India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Co-founder Ishan Preet Singh said “With FrontRow, we want to bridge this knowledge accessibility gap between our country’s top talent and those with unexplored potential by providing high-quality, easy to comprehend courses at affordable pricing. Moreover, these successful figures have a lot of first-hand wisdom to share that often goes untapped,” he added.
He played his last international match in 2018 after debuting in 2005 and retired along with MS Dhoni on Independence Day, 2020.