IPL 2021: Suresh Raina not looking ‘pacey’, wonder if CSK will give Robin Uthappa a chance – Shaun Pollock

IPL 2021: Shaun Pollock said that the fans are used to seeing Suresh Raina cracking big shots and contributing in the field but the CSK veteran has not been able to showcase those qualities thus far this season. Raina has scored in the double digits just twice thus far in the UAE this season. (Courtesy of BCCI)HIGHLIGHTSRaina has scored just 160 runs in 11 innings this seasonRaina is the third highest run scorer of all time in the IPLPollock said that CSK can consider giving Uthappa a chanceShaun Pollock said that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) should be looking to find a suitable replacement for the struggling Suresh Raina before they are found wanting in the playoffs. Raina, the third highest run scorer of all time in the history of the Indian Premier League, has managed to score just 160 runs in the 11 innings he has played thus far this season.

The 34-year-old has crossed over into two figures just twice in his last seven innings. Regarded as one of the best fielders in the world in his prime, Raina’s contributions in the field have also diminished this season.”I wonder if they will give Robin Uthappa a chance. CSK are a team that doesn’t like to make big changes. The longer it goes on, the more you feel they can’t actually make a change for the knockouts unless they make it sooner or later. I’m sure he will be keen to have a go. But if they keep winning, they will want everyone firing,” Pollock told Cricbuzz.Raina, who played his last international match in July 2018, announced his retirement from international cricket. He had also given the last IPL a miss, which meant that he hardly had any match practice in nearly two years before the season started in May in India. The same remained in the months between the postponing of the season and its resumption in the UAE.”He hasn’t been able to find his touch. He looks like he might be carrying a bit of a niggle, he doesn’t look that pacey, that’s what we are so used to: brilliant fielding over the years, contributing with his off-spin and smashing the ball out of the ground; we haven’t seen that. No surprise that they promoted him to No.3; that was in a bid to get him some form under the belt,” Pollock.Click here for our site’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.