'Being dropped was good for me' - Raina

It's a mark of his self-confidence - and the belief in his coach and captain - that Suresh Raina refuses to be downcast over recent events. Other youngsters - Raina is fresh out of his teens - would have cracked after having failed on an overseas tour and been dropped from the Test squad. Yet Raina prefers to accentuate the positive. "This is not a failure", he told Cricinfo on the sidelines of the Ranji Trophy match at Vadodara. "I have come back to the domestic game, have scored a century in the last game, and have gained a lot of confidence. The more time I spend in first-class cricket the better."

A member of the squad during the home Tests against England and then in the West Indies, Raina has been burdened with the "prodigy" tag - and it's fair to say he is yet to fully deliver on that. His numbers - an average of 26.77 after 34 ODIs with a best of 81 - do not square with his reputation as a bully in domestic cricket.

He was impressive with his thirties and forties in India and Pakistan, always giving the impression there was more to come. Yet the more never came and, as he started playing outside the subcontinent, the talent was harder to spot. Soon every failure took him closer to being 'protected' rather than 'being persisted with'. And then he was finally dropped, after failing in a side game and a one-dayer in South Africa, falling twice to what had fast become his shorcoming - the short-pitched stuff.

Out of sight is not really out of mind, though: Raina revealed that Greg Chappell, still in South Africa, had sent him a message following his century against Tamil Nadu . For Chappell, Raina knows, quality matters more than statistics. "He (Chappell) is quite a reader of the game. Even if you make 20 or 30 runs, he knows how you have made those."

Yet statistics do tell a story, and Raina knows there'd be good reasons for being dropped. "The drop is a positive thing for me. If I am not doing well, I will obviously get dropped. But I only got one game there. I knew I will get more chances in the future. I think I was dropped because they must have thought I wouldn't get chances there and they wanted me to come back and build some confidence."

It wasn't a glorious return to Ranji; he scored a duck in the first match, against Karnataka (and another against Baroda today). But time spent with his Uttar Pradesh team-mates, playing under Mohammad Kaif has helped. "I have worked hard in first-class. Kaif has supported me throughout; he is a superb captain. We came back, we got together, we spoke about the last season when we were champions. Reliving those days felt very good."

Ironically, Raina may again end up competing with Kaif for a place in the Indian side. "I am not thinking about that. I just think, let me do well," says Raina. "He is a good player, and a good friend. We always have fun, especially while fielding. We plan our dives, the direct hits, and pulling them off is real fun. Even chasing a ball together is enjoyable. He only inspires me... I think if he can do well why not me."

Raina has been part of a structure that focuses on youngsters and the future, and managed to keep experienced players like Sourav Ganguly out of the side. Does it now make him feel insecure that the old hands were brought back? "I don't know about that. I know only about me and my processes."

Ah, the P word that is so beloved of his coach and captain. What does "process",mean to him? "Preparation before a game. Staying sincere and focussed. Looking at the circumstances, conditions, the kind of bowling, and planning accordingly. Talking to people like Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul [Dravid] helps; they remember their good innings. If I can slowly get towards that, not in one go, but slowly, it will be very good for me and my cricket."

Raina isn't losing sleep over his average, aware that he's played 19 of his innings at No. 6 and below. He has not scored a fifty outside the subcontinent, his average after the DLF Cup in Malaysia was 16. His brief spell in South Afrcia revealed yet again a weakness against the short, rising ball. "I've been working on that at the nets," he says. "I have a good backfoot play, and I am learning to adjust."

It could be argued that Raina has been given a long rope, that he has let those down who showed faith in his ability for so long. But he says he is looking at what he is doing right now, and his immediate goals. "I have improved over these Ranji matches. I have got a hundred, an eighty, and another hundred would be perfect."

Is World Cup too far a thought? "Right now I am thinking of this game and the next but if I play well, I will go to the West Indies."