Is this the end of the road for Suresh Raina in ODIs?

Cricket much like life isn't something that is black and white and is usually punctuated by various shades of grey. Yet, one look at Suresh Raina's ODI numbers will tell you that his career is one that has been pretty straightforward.

Ever since he established himself as an integral part of the Indian middle-order in 2008, he hasn't had too much trouble in remaining consistent. While his forays into Tests haven't proved to be especially successful and he is one of India's better T20 batsmen, his place in the ODI side have been called into question recently.

After playing 187 of India's 214 ODIs from June 2008 till the end of last year, he is yet to play a single ODI this year. He was dropped for the ODI series against Australia in Australia but still included in the T20 side where was a key cog in the 3-0 win and now he has even been left out of the squad to tour Zimbabwe.

While it is true that the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have also not been selected for the tour, their place in the ODI side hasn't been questioned like Raina's. While questions about his technique have always been there, he has somehow managed a way around that in ODIs but after a lacklustre IPL for Gujarat Lions, his future in the ODI side is a question that the selectors have seemingly answered in the last two squads.

Yet the question of whether his numbers indicate his time is done or if he deserves another chance is what will be explored over the course of this piece.

Consistent performer in ODIs

Ever since he established himself as an ODI regular in 2008, Raina has been nothing if not consistent. Only in two years (2011 and 2015) has he averaged below 35, which is his career ODI average and his strike rate was below 95 in just one of those years. Those are remarkable numbers for someone batting at No.5 and No.6.

While there is always a suggestion that not outs inflate the average, the key in the middle order is to score quickly and hit boundaries. The 29-year-old ticks both boxes. Of all players who have scored over 2000 runs at No.5 and No.6, only Andrew Symonds has a better strike than Raina’s 94.13 and that is without considering that Raina has played double the amount of matches and nearly scored double the amount of runs as well.

As far as his ability to score big is concerned, he averages a boundary every 9.92 balls, which puts him up there with the very best in the business. Even in the last two years, when many have considered that his time is running out, he averages 35.4 at a strike rate of 107 with a boundary every 7.92 balls, which is even better than his career ball per boundary average.

Strengths and struggles

His struggles with the short ball and the bounce provided by the surface has meant he has a marginally worse average away from home (31.2) than at home (36.3) but he hasn’t exactly been a liability away from home.

In fact, his numbers in England, where India play the Champions Trophy next and against England as well, are impressive. He averages 37.5 and has a strike rate of 113.6 in England while his average shoots up to nearly 43 against the opponents.

His numbers in New Zealand and against them aren’t too shabby either. With an average of 63.8 and strike rate of 117.7 in the country, it is fair to say that enjoys going to New Zealand much better than Australia, where he averages 27.2 with a strike rate of 93.6.

With India playing New Zealand and then England in ODIs in India, it is fair to say that dropping an experienced campaigner such as Raina, who enjoys playing against both of them wouldn’t be an especially wise move.

With the current selection committee looking to the future, his chances of making a comeback into the ODI side look slim but with the flat nature of pitches around the world, dropping one of the best middle-order batsmen in recent years in favour of someone with little experience makes little sense, especially against tough opponents.

Then again, the performance of Manish Pandey in the final ODI against Australia earlier in the year and his performance in the Zimbabwe series is likely to have a major impact on whether Raina gets the middle-order slot.