Published: Feb 10, 2013, 05:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 10, 2013, 05:42 PM (IST)
Few days ago, Suresh Raina spoke extensively on his aim to earn a place in the Test side © Getty Images
Mumbai: Feb 10, 2013
Indian all-rounder Suresh Raina on Sunday expressed disappointment over being ignored for the squad for the first two Test matches against Australia, which was announced on Sunday.
Raina, who had a successful run in the One-Day International series against England last month, was hopeful of getting selected in the Test side and had talked openly about it.
But his name was missing along with the under-fire opener Gautam Gambhir when the national selectors met on Sunday in Chennai to name the squad.
Raina wrote on microblogging site Twitter, “Disappointed about being overlooked for the first 2 Tests. Don’t know what was lacking but won’t let it dishearten me. Still going strong.”
A few days ago, Raina spoke extensively on his aim to earn a place in the Test side, putting in hours of practise and also playing lot of domestic cricket in a bid to make a comeback.
Having scored a solid 134 for Rest of India against Mumbai last week, Raina insisted that he would make it count if he is recalled to the Indian squad against Australia in the upcoming four-Test series, commencing in Chennai later this month.
“I’m hitting the ball really well. The last four fifties and a hundred have made me tougher. I was disappointed that I didn’t get any hundreds in the ODIs (against England), so I had more desire to make a hundred in this game,” said Raina.
“Fortunately it was done today and God has been really kind. Hopefully, when I get the chance against Australia, I will prove myself again,” said the left handed batsman, who top-scored in RoI’s imposing total of 526 in the Irani Cup game against the Ranji Trophy winners Mumbai.
