India might have lost the three-match one-day international series against Bangladesh by 1-2 but allrounder Suresh Raina on Wednesday said one series loss can’t make India a bad team.
Team India has won 14 out of 20 ODIs in the 2014-15 season, putting them in third position behind Australia and New Zealand in the list most successful ODI teams of the season.
“The team’s graph is going upwards definitely. These were the last matches of the season. We don’t know when we are next playing one-dayers. We have done quite well in the format and we are still No. 2 in the world. It’s not that you become good or bad in just one series,” he said.
At a time when there are rumours of a rift in the team, Raina, like Ravichandran Ashwin, came out in full support of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying everyone loves him in the dressing room.
“You can’t disrespect him and what he has achieved. He has won so many trophies for BCCI. At the same time he’s a good human being, good honest man. One series can’t make him bad. He’s a good leader. Everyone loves him in the dressing room. There’s still a lot of cricket left for him. So just wait for some time,” he said.
On being asked if there’s a need for the team to have a proper designated coach in place, Raina said nothing should be done in a hurry and the matter needs to be given some time.
“Everything is all right. There’s no need to press the panic button. It will be better if you give it some time,” he said.
Having featured in the role of a finisher for a long time, Dhoni has now desired to bat up the order to add some muscle to the middle order. Dhoni struck a 77-ball 69 to help India win the third and the last ODI against Bangladesh and avoid an embarrassing 3-0 clean sweep.
“The way he [Dhoni] has batted in the last two games has showed how important No. 4 is for him. He has taken a lot of responsibility over the years and he showed it today as well. He set the tone for us today with Shikhar [Dhawan].
“No. 6 is not an easy position, you have to accelerate. Sometimes you get runs, sometimes you don’t. But still you need to be positive in your mind. I am really happy. I have worked really hard with Ravi [Shastri] and at the same time Sanjay Bangar has really helped me a lot as well. My mindset has improved over the years as well. I have learned how to bat with the tailenders. When you are not scoring runs up front, you need to just look to bat really well with whoever comes in,” he said.
Raina, who has also expressed a desire to bat up the order, said he has no regrets and is ready for any role the team management gives him.
