'Every captain has his own team' - Suresh Raina opens up on how his India career fell apart

Suresh Raina announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, August 15, 2020, following the footsteps of his CSK captain MS Dhoni. He was only 33 years old at the time. Raina had played 226 ODIs, 78 T20Is and 18 Tests for India, and was part of the squad that won the ODI World Cup in 2011. He was the first Indian batter to score a century in all three international formats.

During the final part of his career, Raina felt there was not enough communication between him and the team management. He passed the Yo-Yo fitness test and also scored runs in domestic cricket. However, he still did not get another chance to play for India.

"See, every captain has his own team. He obviously feels someone else is better. Yuvraj Singh and I failed the Yo-Yo test, but we cleared it. We played a lot of domestic too. Scored a lot of runs. I did speak to Anil bhai (then the coach), and he told me there were certain things I needed to do. I was named Player of the Tournament in South Africa in T20Is. But in the 2019 World Cup, a different batter was preferred for England. A different keeper went there too. Back then, I felt that I could have done better," said Raina on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel.

How Raina's India career came to an end?

The lack of clarity from the selection table remained a persistent issue for Raina during his final years in the Indian team. He sought answers from the captain and coaching staff but felt the communication could have been more transparent. Raina explained the frustration that came with not receiving clear feedback on his standing in the team's plans.

"Players expect respect. The communication could have been better, such as what are the selectors thinking? What message is being given to them by them? But that’s not in our control. I asked plenty of questions, but didn’t get any answers. I spoke to both the captain and the coaches. But they did what they felt was right," said Raina.