Former Indian and Chennai Super Kings batter Suresh Raina has hailed his captain, MS Dhoni, as the toughest bowler he ever faced in his career in the nets.
Raina, who recently appeared on the show ‘Home of Heroes, claimed that while he found legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga to be the toughest bowlers to face during a match, in the nets it was always MS Dhoni who troubled him the most.
“I think Muralitharan and Malinga, but in the nets, it was MS Dhoni. If he got you out in the nets then you’d not be able to sit with him for one and a half month because he’d keep gesturing and remind how he got you out.”
On what troubled Raina about MS Dhoni’s bowling, the southpaw opined that it was the wicketkeeper batter’s variety, skills with the red ball in hand, and skulduggery that troubled him the most.
“He’d bowl off-spin, medium pace, leg spin, everything. In the nets, he would even justify his front foot no-balls (laughs). Wherever he’d get a red cherry in a Test match he’d go for it. In England, he’d swing it full throttle.”
Also Read: Unique connection of MS Dhoni with ‘Khichdi and World Cup’
Raina is often considered one of the best middle-order batters India has ever produced, but the start of the left-hander’s career wasn’t that great. Raina recalled how he played in his first international ODI match against Sri Lanka and why he had earlier named Muttiah Muralitharan as one of the toughest bowlers he’d ever faced.
“I made my debut against Sri Lanka in 2005 and got out LBW on the first ball facing Murali (Muralitharan). That walk to the dressing room was never ending and I kept wondering, will I get another chance? I put in the hard yards in the domestic circuit to reach where I was.”
Despite a poor start to his international career, Raina went on to play 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is for India. The Southpaw ended up scoring 768 runs in the Test format, 5,615 runs at an average of 35.3 in ODIs, and 1,605 runs in T20Is while striking the ball at 134.9.
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