Suresh Raina didn’t make a case for himself in domestic cricket, feels MSK Prasad

Suresh Raina might have been a huge servant of Indian cricket in the era gone by but the emergence of a new crop of players have done no good to his fortunes. His propensity to get injured far too often played a role as well as his appearance for India in the 2018 limited-overs series against England became his last game in blue.  While he alleged in a recent Youtube interview that MSK Prasad-led selection panel didn’t give him any clarification regarding why he was out of the radar, the former selector himself has decided to clear the air.

"See VVS Laxman, when he was dropped from the Indian Test squad in 1999, he forced himself back by scoring over 1400 runs in domestic cricket. This is what is expected from senior players when they are dropped," Prasad told PTI. 

"Unfortunately, we didn't see that form here in Raina's case in domestic cricket while other youngsters emerged at the big stage with their brilliant performances in domestic cricket and India A," Prasad added. 

While Raina stated that selectors should have taken more responsibility towards the senior players and alleged that selectors don’t watch enough Ranji games to understand a player properly, the former Indian wicket-keeper resorted back by saying he personally spoke to the southpaw regarding his form and the areas to improve.

"It is so sad to hear from him that selectors don't watch Ranji games. Please check the records with BCCI that show how many matches were watched by senior selection committee members in the last four years. I had personally spoken to Raina calling him to my room and explained to him the roadmap for his future comebacks. He had, back then, appreciated my efforts. I am really surprised when I have heard things which are exactly contrary to what had happened,” Prasad added.

"I gave postings to my selectors looking at those matches where the consistent players, fringe players, probables or comeback players are playing. Personally, I watched four UP games in Lucknow and Kanpur in the last four years apart from the other many UP matches my colleagues have seen. I take pride in saying that our selection committee has watched more than 200 Ranji matches in the last four years."