Suresh Raina Ushers Praise On Former Teammate, Faiz Fazal

Suresh Raina, the captain of Uttar Pradesh Ranji team, has praised Faiz Fazal, the captain for Vidarbha, for leading his side to the final of the Ranji Trophy 2017/18. Raina and Fazal know each other right from the U17 days, and in fact, Raina was the member of the U19 that played the World Cup in 2004. Fazal was withdrawn from the tournament due to an injury and was replaced by Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 155* in the first game of the tournament and also won Man of the Series award,

“He has good technique and looks solid whenever he bats. He has a lot of experience now. Fazal’s solidity at the top is one of the reasons for Vidarbha’s success,” Raina told TOI during an interaction.

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It is the first time in the history of the Ranji Trophy when Vidarbha have qualified for the finals. In fact, it was the first time when Vidarbha played the semifinal too. They got past a strong and star-studded Karnataka team to book a place in the final,

“They are playing very good cricket. They have it in them to go all the way. The way Vidarbha have played this season shows any team can play Ranji Trophy final if it shows determination, dedication and willingness to work hard. They have so much of talent,” Raina added.

Vidarbha will now face Delhi in the final of the tournament from December 29 to January 2 at Holkar stadium in Indore. Both the teams have left everyone surprised by making it to the finals and have an equal chance of winning the trophy.

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Talking of Suresh Raina, he could not do well in the tournament and could just manage 105 runs in five Ranji Trophy games. Uttar Pradesh could not qualify for the second round.

Though Raina has cleared the yo-yo test now and if he can score runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, then he can present a case for himself for selection in the T20I squad.

His last ODI appearance may have come in the year 2015, but he was the part of the T20I side that faced England early this year. He was also the highest run-scorer in the series for India. A failure in clearing the yo-yo test though saw him being sidelined from the team.

He has not been named in the ODI team primarily due to his poor form in domestic cricket, but as said, the T20 competition will be an opportunity for him to make a comeback in the Indian team.

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