Bangladesh tour good opportunity for England tour: Raina

Suresh Raina, who is all set to lead the 15-member Indian squad to Bangladesh for a three-ODI series, has said it would a good opportunity for him to get prepared for a tougher England tour ahead.

“It will be a good opportunity for me before the England ODI series. I hope if I do well (in Bangladesh) then I will go and perform well in the England one-day series also,” said Raina.

He, however, admitted that Bangladesh series would not be easy for his “young team”, as the hosts would be tough opponents in their backyard.

The 27-year old will lead the Indian team which is devoid of star players like regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma among others.

“Bangladesh is a good team in its home ground. We didn’t win in the Asia Cup and we lost the (T20) World Cup final (held there). It will be a challenge for us.

“It is a young team. The good thing is that all the young players have done well. Left-arm (spinner) Akshar Patel has done well, (Ambati) Rayudu has done well, Manoj Tiwary has done well, (Wriddhiman) Saha has done well. Especially Robin Uthappa, he has been performing well in the ongoing IPL,” said Raina on Wednesday night after his IPL team Chennai Super Kings posted a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.

Stating that a captain is as good as his team, the left handed batsman said, “It is a good team. I think the captain is not so important but if you have good players you can win matches.”

Raina is currently playing in the IPL and said he hoped to take a few tips from Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming before leaving for Bangladesh.

“I am focusing now on the next two games of (IPL) and then I will have 10-12 days on how to plan things. I hope I will sit with MSD and Fleming on how to plan,” he revealed.

India will play three ODIs against Bangladesh in Mirpur on June 15, 17 and 19.