India A captain Suresh Raina defended the composition of his team which has no front-line spinner and said that he and Yuvraj bowled well against England XI, says a report in The Indian Express.
"We bowled really well, (Ashok) Dinda, myself and Yuvraj (Singh). Me and Yuvraj bowled 40 overs and got two and one wickets. Manoj Tiwary also bowled well," said Raina.
Raina praised Alastair Cook who scored a good hundred to take his team out of trouble.
"He (Cook) is looking solid. He will definitely score a lot of runs this season. He has been batting really well since last two, two-and-a-half years. I wish him luck. Hopefully, he will not do well against India," Raina said.
On Yuvraj Singh dismissing Kevin Pietersen, he said, “He has had a few successes against KP. He was very happy. They both had a laugh later," said Raina.
England all-rounder Samit Patel who played a crucial hand said, “"There are a few more practice games to go and a lot of work left to do. The more I play, the confidence will go up. It's about trying to adapt quickly to the conditions in India, both with the bat and ball," Patel said.
Meanwhile, Deccan Chronicle reports that Suresh Raina said that in the future, players might contemplate hiring coaches to advise them on their game.
“With so many formats to switch between, it sometimes gets difficult and you need somebody to observe you and guide you all the time. Look at sports like tennis and shooting, the coach always travels with the sportsman,” Raina said.
Raina who has asked Pravin Amre to help him with his batting said, “Every coach has his own method. When I was 14 or 15, I played a lot of matches at the U-19 level for Air India and have known Pravin sir since then. He knows my batting well.”