Seniors deserved a break, says Suresh Raina

Skipper Raina says BCCI was kind to give seniors rest and urges everyone to...

Seniors deserved a break, says Suresh Raina

Skipper Raina says BCCI was kind to give seniors rest and urges everyone to...

Stand-in skipper Suresh Raina. File pic/Atul Kamble

Bereft of a number of their star players, like World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, opener Virender Sehwag, and left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan, the visitors are still heavily favoured to topple their opponents.

All of their players were involved in the Indian Premier League, so the format should pose little or no trouble, neither should the conditions in the Caribbean, which are not so dissimilar to their homeland. "The Indian Cricket Board has been very kind to the players and have allowed them some rest and we must respect this," said stand-in India captain Suresh Raina.

"Those guys have been performing well for India for quite a long time, and they deserve a break. We have a young team here, and they are focussed on doing well for India, and I am excited to see them perform over the next few weeks."

Raina promised that the Indians would play a brand of the game that upheld their reputation as the No 1 Test side in the World and World Cup champions. "We have won the World Cup, and now it is time to move on, and before us is the West Indies series and we have to deal with it as best as we can. "The West Indies team has been playing good cricket for the past few months, and we are not going to take them lightly."

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