Suresh Raina, India’s one day specialist and batting all rounder has been ruled out of the first ODI against New Zealand due to bout of viral fever. The first match will be played at picturesque Dharamsala on Sunday.
Raina, who was out of favour with the Indian team made a comeback after nearly a year. He didn’t play against Australia (away), Zimbabwe (away). Raina played in the Asia cup and World T20 without much success. He wasn’t selected for couple of T20s against West Indies, which were played in Florida.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not named any replacement as Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are out due to injuries. India have also decided to rest Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, keeping in mind the busy home season ahead.
Raina has not had time in the middle since the Duleep Trophy where his scores read 52, 35 and 90.
Raina led Uttar Pradesh in the team’s Ranji Trophy opener against Madhya Pradesh last week but did not come out to bat. Uttar Pradesh suffered an innings and 64 run defeat at the hands of Madhya Pradesh.
Raina over the years has proved his worth in limited overs matches and was part of the squad when India won the 2011 cricket World cup and also was part of the victorious 2013 Champions trophy.
India would be riding high on the confidence of 3-0 whitewash of the Kiwis in Test matches and would like to carry the momentum in ODI cricket, where in recent past they haven’t been consistent and have been erratic.