Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina on Wednesday joined the Test squad ahead of the first Test against Australia in Mohali after completing their Champions League Twenty20 engagements for Chennai Super Kings in South Africa.
Suresh Raina was presented a golden opportunity to force his way back into the Test squad after being named captain of the Board President's XI, which will play the West Indies in a three-day warm-up match ahead of the Test series that follows the ongoing One-day internationals.
Suresh Raina's unbeaten half-century guided Chennai Super Kings to a thumping nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders and took them to second place in the IPL league table.
The fit-again Yuvraj Singh broke into the top-20 while Suresh Raina got a major confidence booster ahead of the World T20 in Sri Lanka, emerging as the highest-placed Indian batsmen at number three, in the latest ICC Player Rankings for the shortest format.
Seeking to prove his detractors wrong, Suresh Raina has stated that he was "built" for Test cricket and is working on playing the short ball -- perceived to be the batsman's weakness -- better.
The three-day tour match between India A and England will be more than a practice match for players from both the teams. For England, who have won just one Test match in India since 1985, it is a chance to get acclimatised to the conditions before the all-important four-match Test series starting later this month.
Soon after India had suffered a humiliating innings and six runs defeat in the opening Test at Nagpur on Tuesday, the selection panel made changes in the squad for the second Test at Kolkata that weren't too convincing. The All-India Senior Selection Committee decided to include Dinesh Karthik, S Sreesanth and Suresh Raina in the squad at the expense of Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sudeep Tyagi.
Suresh Raina was on Monday ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand after failing to recover from viral fever as India decided not to make any change to the squad that has taken a 2-1 lead in the ongoing five-ODI series.
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final one-dayer between India and England in Leeds on Friday.
India captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the opening game of the IndianOil Cup tri-series tournament
Young players like Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma lack the "all-consuming" desperation to do well in Test cricket because they have other options, feels former India captain Rahul Dravid.
India's One-Day International captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Tuesday, lamented the absence of a good attacking batsman lower down the order for the forthcoming tour of Australia for a One-day series, starting on January 12.
Statistical highlights of the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers Visakahapatnam on Saturday.
# Raina's strike rate of 144.44 is his fourth highest and the highest against Sri Lanka in an innings in ODIs when he has posted a fifty-plus innings.
The Pinkvilla Screen and Style Icons Awards were held in Mumbai, and Bollywood suitably glammed up for the night.
The India cricket team recorded a comprehensive 37-run win over Australia in the first T20 at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday, and take a 1-0 lead in the three match T20 series. Here are the statistical highlights of the match...
A good performance in the inconsequential fourth and final Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval will be a shot in the arm for the demoralized Indian team ahead of the triangular One-day series to be held next month, said middle-order batsman Suresh Raina on Thursday.
The IPL pricing so far has been extremely irrational, and one expects franchise owners to correct this in subsequent years.
Kanitkar feels playing in the U-19 World Cup provides the players with an insight into the senior level.
Chennai Super Kings will launch their Indian Premier League (IPL) title defence against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday
The panel discussion titled 'Kashmir: From Turmoil to Transformation' was held on Thursday. It was moderated by columnist Se Hoon Kim and addressed by president of the Jammu and Kashmir Workers Party Mir Junaid, and Touseef Raina, president of the Municipal Council of Baramulla.
Suresh Raina will India in the ODI series against the West Indies next month after both Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh were ruled out on account of injury.
From Neeraj Chopra to PV Sindhu, India's top sports personalities hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting a successful G20 Summit and taking "international diplomacy to a whole new level".
President Droupadi Murmu conferred 26 Shaurya Chakras (seven posthumous) to personnel of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces and state/Union Territory Police during a defence investiture ceremony.
Stand-in captain Suresh Raina is happy that the new-look Indian team that got very little time to prepare for the West Indies series have produced results.
'I just need to go back and bat at my old position at No 3.' 'In the IPL, captaincy is just for namesake. You just need to go out there and play well.' Suresh Raina tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about the challenges that lie ahead as he leads the Gujarat Lions and how much he will miss his beloved Chennai Super Kings and under his favourite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
He finished a stellar T20 International career, registering the record for most by runs any player in T20 World Cups -- 1,292 runs in 35 matches.
If players like Suresh Raina fails in Test cricket due to lack of technique against short pitched deliveries, it would be a big loss for the game, former Australian captain Ian Chappell has said.
Captain Suresh Raina slammed a masterful 146 as India A set New Zealand A 355 runs to win the four-day match. The Kiwis were 41 for 1 in 18 overs at the end of the penultimate day of the match.
He has relished the role of a finisher in One-dayers but given a chance, Suresh Raina won't mind batting higher up the order.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket has left the Indian think-tank fretting over the ideal playing combination that will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting next Tuesday.
Babil Khan's co-star from Friday Night Plan, Medha Rana is a khazana when it comes to style tips.
Please fill in your choices and help the Indian selectors make up their mind!
India left-hander Suresh Raina insisted that India are still a 'better side' than Bangladesh while vowing to make a strong comeback in the three-match One-Day International series after the visitors suffered a shock defeat in the first match in Mirpur, Dhaka.
High on confidence after decimating a high-profile Royal Challengers Bangalore, an upbeat Gujarat Lions will be aiming to lift their game a notch higher when they face title contenders Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Rajkot on Saturday.
Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee scored centuries to lead Bengal's spirited comeback against Mumbai, while Gujarat put themselves in line for full seven points after enforcing the follow-on against Punjab. A round up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches.
Morarji Desai was 81 when he was elected prime minister and ruled India for two years, from March 1977 to July 1999.
The national selection panel, headed by Sandeep Patil, sent out a strong message by axing the experienced Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma, with the 50-overs World Cup just a year away.
With the Indian batting in disarray, Suresh Raina's recent good form gives the Selection Committee, meeting shortly to decide on the squad for the home series against Australia, food for thought.
