In July 2005, when the Indian cricket team took on the Sri Lankan team Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla, it was going through an interesting phase. Greg Chappell had taken over as the new coach, Rahul Dravid was the new captain and experiments in the playing XI were in full flow. In this particular match, MS Dhoni opened the batting alongside Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh batted at number 3 but the biggest surprise was the inclusion of an 18-year-old youngster in the middle-order who recently had a wonderful Under-19 World Cup. Suresh Raina, making his ODI debut in that game got out for a first ball duck having a disastrous start to his career.

Watch Suresh Raina’s match-winning knock from 2010 IPL final:

In his first 36 matches, he scored only 612 runs at an average of 26.6 and was eventually dropped from the Indian team. Since the life has gone in a complete circle for the Gujarat Lions captain. He went back to the domestic cricket, took IPL by storm, turned into a genuine match-winner, became an important part of the Indian side before being dropped from the side and finally, lost BCCI contract yesterday. It is being said that he was out of form for so long that BCCI had to take this decision. But, the numbers reveal that Raina was never out of form.

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Suresh Raina returned to the Indian team in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup. Since then, he has averaged less than 35 in only 2011 and 2015. Given that he bats at number 5 or 6 for the team, it is acceptable as often the situation is tough. However, the interesting part is that only in one year, his strike-rate was less than 95 which shows he always put team’s need ahead of his personal performance. Out of all the players who have scored more than 2000 runs batting at number 5 or 6, only former Australian player Andre Symonds has a better strike-rate than Suresh Raina. In 2014 and 2015, Raina scored a boundary every 7.92 balls which is better than his career average revealing that he wasn’t in a bad touch either.

Watch Suresh Raina’s brilliant catch against Australia:

In his last T20 appearance against England, Suresh Raina scored a half-century batting at number 3 and took India to a strong total. He also had a decent Ranji Trophy season leading Uttar Pradesh and more importantly, his numbers in England, where the next ICC Champions Trophy will be played are outstanding. Raina averages 37.5 with the bat in England and has maintained a career strike-rate of 113.6. Now that BCCI hasn’t given him a contract, he is unlikely to be picked for the tournament as well.

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Going into a major tournament like this, Suresh Raina’s experience could have been very handy for Virat Kohli’s team. Unlike some of his competitors in the middle-order like Kedar Jadhav or Manish Pandey, Raina can roll his arm if required and not to forget his fielding skills, that make him a real asset for any side. So, all we can say is that no giving Suresh Raina a contract may be BCCI’s loss more than the cricketer.