5 reasons why Suresh Raina deserves another chance in the ODI team

#2 His inclusion will allow MS Dhoni to play with more freedom

For a long time, it has been suggested that MS Dhoni is better off playing up the order given his finishing powers are on the wane.

Dhoni generally comes to bat in the lower-middle order, and with both Jadhav and Pandya yet to play a World Cup, their lack of experience will mean a lot of pressure on Dhoni which may prove to be fatal in the final phases of the innings for India especially if he is not able to be at his destructive best.

The inclusion of Suresh Raina will allow Dhoni to move up the order to number 4 and build the innings instead of having to go for attacking shots from the beginning and with Raina bringing some much-needed experience in the lower-middle order, Dhoni can play with a greater sense of freedom which will be highly beneficial for the Indian team.

The fact that India has failed to find a stable number 4 post the 2015 WC, the time may finally be right for Dhoni to make the spot his own.

Additionally, if the team still feels Dhoni is better suited to the lower-middle order role, Raina can himself move to number 4 in the batting order where he has found some success before (Remember his counter-attacking innings of 74 against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup?).

With the likes of Imran Tahir, Shakib Al Hasan, Ashton Agar, Shadab Khan, Michell Santner, Adil Rashid, Rashid Khan and Devendra Bishoo likely to play in the World Cup and all of them being either wrist spinners or left-arm spinners, a left-hander in Raina batting at number 4 can counter-attack them, maintaining the team’s run-rate in the middle phases of the innings.