The selection committee’s decision to drop Raina has come as a shock to many people

Former India pace bowler Venkatesh Prasad has announced that he is extremely disappointed in the national selectors’ decision not to include batsman Suresh Raina in the squad for the first two Test matches against England.

The selection committee, which is headed by Sandeep Patil, decided to drop Raina, despite having scored a half century in his last Test match against New Zealand in August.

“I was expecting Raina to get selected. It is unfortunate that he has not been named in the squad. But I don’t think he should be disheartened, he is a class player. I thought he played brilliantly against a very good Delhi bowling attack and spent a lot of time in the middle which is very important. I think it is a bit disappointing for him. But I don’t think he will be out of the team for too long. He led the team superbly in this match, took some great catches in the first innings in the slips and played two important knocks which helped his team win,” Prasad said.