India vs Australia 2016: MS Dhoni will definitely miss Suresh Raina, says VVS Laxman

Despite being dropped from the ODI team, Raina was retained in the T20 side.

New Delhi: The exclusion of Suresh Raina from India's ODI squad for the tour to Australia was definitely surprising.

The left-hander has been a vital cog in India's ODI dominance in the last few years.

Raina, known for his explosive batting in tough situations, has been struggling with bat of late.

However, former Indian batsman VVS Laxman believes the Uttar Pradesh batsman should have been picked by the selectors.

At the time, VVS had termed Raina's exclusion as 'a bit harsh'.

Now ahead of the first ODI, VVS has echoed his sentiments in a column for Cricket County.

“India will definitely miss Suresh Raina. I personally feel he should have been in the team because he has been selfless with extraordinary numbers coming at a quick pace batting late in the innings. In his absence, the role of the finisher has fallen solely on MS Dhoni’s shoulders,” he wrote.

“In Raina’s absence, a lot of attention will be centred on how Manish Pandey and Gurkeerat Mann shape up,” he further added.

Apart from scoring runs at a quick rate, Raina is widely regarded as India's best fielder. Despite being dropped from the ODI team, the 29-year-old was retained in the T20 side.