Suresh Raina’s poor run with the bat continues in Ranji Trophy

With only one fifty in the Duleep Trophy, Raina entered the Ranji matches with enough match practice under his belt but not many runs. UP’s first game against Railways had a funny end. They needed 92 runs for a win but folded for 72. Raina managed 6 and 29 in the two innings.

Since then, his scores in five Ranji Trophy innings are — 0, 5, 10, 16, 6. UP are currently playing Assam in Guwahati but Raina was dismissed for six runs by Abu Nechim, bolwed.

Like the bowlers in international cricket, bowlers in domestic cricket are also aware about Raina’s weakness against short-ball. Ishant Sharma targetted him with that during UP’s game against Delhi at Air Force Ground in Palam. Though he has been bowled thrice in seven innings, it’s evident that short-ball-coming thought is at the back of his mind.

While Raina has thought of spending time at the crease, Uttar Pradesh’s chairman of selectors, Rizwan Shamshad says sometime players need time to get used to multi-day cricket.

“I don’t think there’s an issue with his technique. He’s played mostly one-days and T20 cricket, so [multi] days cricket is a bit of an adjustment. When a player comes back to domestic cricket from internationals, a lot of things are different. He doesn’t spot a lot of things at this level. It takes time to understand how to make runs in domestic cricket again. The day he shows patience and sticks in, everything will work out,” Shamshad was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Raina may not fit in this category though. He has been out of the Indian team for two years and apart from his IPL stint with Gujarat Lions, he hasn’t really played high-level international cricket. As an assistant coach of Gujarat in IPL, Sitanshu Kotak also watched Raina and says he doesn’t find anything wrong with Raina’s batting.

“No player is good with every area,” Kotak told ESPNcricinfo. “In fact, I’ve seen him play the short ball really well. But when you get out a couple of times and people bowl short at you, then everyone thinks you’re weak at it. A lot of other players never get tested in that area. He still plays outstanding innings and outstanding shots. The only adjustment is he wanted to work on his fitness and I see him doing that. So that’s a good sign. Sometimes in this game, it happens. It’s happening with the UP team too.”

So, where does the problem lie for Raina?

Raina came in to bat at number four for first two Ranji games this season but then shifted down to number five. The selectors of UP are picking a young squad this season and shuffling the batting order a lot. While Raina is under pressure to perform, there is another pressure of being the captain and leading this young bunch. And, of course, the pressure of losing his place in the team.

Unlike Yuvraj Singh or Harbhajan Singh (Yuvraj played one game while Harbhajan hasn’t played any for Punjab this season), Raina is playing every game. He may have to wait but there is a chance that Raina could regain his lost confidence and form. Limited-overs cricket is yet to come and Raina could well turn the tables in his preferred format.