Suresh Raina grateful to Virat Kohli for giving up his No 3 batting slot

Suresh Raina, who batted at No. 3 in the first two T20s against South Africa, feels with Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni to bat after him, he can afford to be aggressive.

Suresh Raina is grateful to Virat Kohli for allaying concerns of how he would fit in on his India comeback by giving up the skipper’s No 3 batting slot in the Twenty20 series against South Africa. (INDIA vs SOUTH AFRICA FULL COVERAGE)

India’s Suresh Raina made 15 and 31 in the first two T20 internationals against South Africa. (BCCI)

The left-hander has batted in the top order for his Indian Premier League teams, but came into an India team where the top three slots were taken by Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli. But the skipper dropped himself by a slot to No 4.

“It is important Virat showed that faith in me,” the 31-year-old left-handed batsman said on Friday ahead of the final match of the tour. The limited-overs specialist has gone after the bowling right from the start. He feels with Kohli, Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni to bat after him, he can afford to be aggressive.

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“In the last two games we have dominated the first six overs. It is very important to play well in the first six overs. When you look to target these overs in T20s, you have to play your shots. When there is depth in the middle order, you can afford to take chances.”

ODI HOPES ALIVE

Raina, who has been out of the ODI side for a while, may get an opportunity as India struggle to stabilise their middle order.

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“It is very important (returning to the ODI team). But a team victory is more important than individual performances. I am someone who always plays for the team and if we are winning trophies then individual performances (and opportunities) will take care of themselves. Whatever opportunity I get, I look to play my natural game.

“If you see the top order, they are all batting well. When you come to Nos 4, 5 and 6, MS is there and Manish is also doing a good job. So, we will see where I can fit in. We have lots of matches coming up.”

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While the Indian bowling attack has lacked teeth without Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, Raina said South Africa have begun to play the spinners better by tweaking their plans.

“Without Kuldeep, our bowling isn’t weak. We have done really well as a bowling unit. Sometimes you need to credit the opposition as well. They needed to do something different when our spinners were not allowing them to score. They needed to come up with plan B and they did that.”