It came as a surprise to the onlookers when Suresh Raina was recently spotted meeting Ramgopal Yadav, the senior Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member on January 21. This meeting that took place ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election and to add to top it all, happened just one day after Samajwadi party announced a list of its 199 candidates, has ignited speculations.
This has kept people wondering if the limited-overs’ specialist Raina is looking forward for a career in politics. It has been more than a year since Suresh Raina represented India in the ODI format. He was, however, a part of India’s squad for the 2016 ICC 2016 World Cup.
Despite having a wonderful year in the Ranji Trophy, he wasn’t picked for the ongoing ODI series against England. Excellent performances by Kedar Jadav and Yuvraj Singh in the middle order means that it will be very tough for Suresh Raina to make a comeback in the ODI setup.
Besides the meeting, nothing more is known about the commitment of the cricket icon so it will be difficult to determine what exactly is his plan.
Though Raina has failed to include himself in the 3 ODI series against England but he still remains a strong choice in the T20 side and has an opportunity to claim his place back in the team in the forthcoming Champions Trophy in June 2017.
Whether Raina foresighted his losing hold in the Indian Cricket team and hence went to meet Samajwadi Party leader for a career alternative is not known. But if he wishes to see himself back in the crease, he certainly has to pull his socks and make the most of the limited opportunities in his kit.
[Source:-Financial Times]
