Suresh Raina Picks Ajinkya Rahane As His Favorite Fielder From The Indian Team
Suresh Raina [Photo-Getty Inages]

Suresh Raina, out-of-favor Indian middle-order batsman, is one of the greatest fielders India has ever produced. Whether it is fielding at point or the cover region or taking catches in the slips, Raina is one of those rare cricketers who is equally good no matter where he is placed on a cricket field.

The fielding of the Indian cricket team has improved by leaps and bounds in the past 20 years. From Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina to Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, the  Men in Blue have been blessed with some outstanding fielders in the 21st century.

Suresh Raina Picks Ajinkya Rahane As His Favorite Fielder From The Indian Team
Ajinkya Rahane [Photo-AFP]
Suresh Raina was asked to pick his favorite Indian fielder and while everyone would have been expecting Raina to name Ravindra Jadeja, the southpaw went on to pick Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as his favorite.According to Raina, one thing that makes Ajinkya Rahane a different fielder from the rest of the pack is the fact that his body can bend when he moves.

“Ajinkya Rahane has better catching skills. I always love his positions while fielding. He has a different kind of power. His body can bend when he moves, that is very different from the rest,” Suresh Raina said during a show on Youtube channel SportScreen.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma’s Captaincy Is Pretty Similar To MS Dhoni: Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina on why Ajinkya Rahane is such a brilliant slip fielder

Suresh Raina Picks Ajinkya Rahane As His Favorite Fielder From The Indian Team
Ajinkya Rahane is a fine catcher at slips. (Credits – Twitter)

Raina also hailed Ajinkya Rahane for his brilliant slip fielder and he attributed Rahane’s ability to judge a batsmen’s movement from behind and anticipate, something that is pretty important considering the distance between slip fielder and batsman is pretty less.

“He is a very good slip fielder, he judges the batsman’s movement from behind and anticipates, which is very important as the distance is not much between the slip fielder and batsman. He also practices like that so it makes it easier during matches,” Raina further added.

On the same show, Raina had also revealed how he was left surprised by MS Dhoni when he asked him to pad up to bat at the No.4 slot during the 2015 World Cup encounter against Pakistan.

Also Read: Suresh Raina Reveals How He Was Caught By Surprise by MS Dhoni When The Latter Asked Him To Bat At No.4 Against Pakistan In The 2015 World Cup