“Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj bowled and took wickets” – Suresh Raina points out the importance of a 6th bowling option

“Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj bowled and took wickets” – Suresh Raina points out the importance of a 6th bowling option

654732 suresh raina savind t20 2018 afp

Suresh Raina

A plethora of questions that have been plaguing the Indian team management is with regard to a 6th bowling option in the side. In the ODI series against Australia, India suffered in the first two matches without a 6th bowling option as their bowlers were taken for plenty and yet had to complete their quote of 10 overs. Braving a potential back injury, Hardik Pandya had to bowl a few overs to compensate in the 2nd ODI.

Since then, especially with Pandya’s back being dodgy as ever, whether or not India need a 6th bowling option has been on the minds of cricket experts, fans and cricketers alike. There have been questions as to whether a batting option should be compromised in order to bring in an extra bowler. While India haven’t resorted to the same in the limited overs series which have since then concluded, these questions continue to cast doubts.

‘It is very important for a batsman to bowl and a bowler to bat’

Suresh Raina

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina spoke today about India’s 6th bowling option problems at the launch of the ‘FrontRow’ app and said, “It is very important for a batsman to bowl and a bowler to bat, it’s is always useful for the team. It is very important for any captain that a batsman chips in with 4-5 overs and just slows the proceedings before your best bowler is back in the attack,” Raina who was also a more than handy bowler said.

“Sachin paaji bowled, Viru bhai took a lot of wickets. Yuvi paaji helped us win the World Cup with the momentum. When we used to play tournaments in the villages, to be in the team, we had to bowl alongside batting otherwise we weren’t selected,” Raina pointed to Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh being good bowlers.

“Fielding had to be good as we didn’t know if we’d get a chance to bat or not. Bowling is arduous, no one likes to do it. But then the captain gets a choice that this player can bowl,” he signed off.

Also Read: “Had ups and downs but love for cricket kept me going,” says Rahul Dravid