New Delhi: Outgoing New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum on Saturday broke one of Test cricket’s most cherished records, blazing his way to a hundred of an eye-popping 54 deliveries, and his skipper in the upcoming Indian Premier League season, Suresh Raina, said he could not have been happier at the feat.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Gujarat Lions’ jersey here, Raina said McCullum’s innings in faraway Christchurch on the first day of his final Test match — against Australia — had made him smile. “I am very happy for McCullum and that we have him in the Gujarat Lions team. He is a fearless cricketer and we want players who will be playing fearless cricket. But I hope that somebody from India can do it too,” the dashing left-hander added.
McCullum snapped the record jointly held by Sir Vivian Richards and Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq, who had got to the century mark off 56 deliveries. While the West Indian master blaster took his hundred off England at his native St Johns in Antigua in the 1985-86 series, Misbah equalled the feat against Australia in Abu Dhabi two years ago.
On leading the Lions, Raina however, said it was only a designation as far as he was concerned. “Captaincy is just a designation for me. It is performance that wins you matches. It is all about how one performs on a particular day. My job is simple. I have to deliver for the Gujarat Lions.
“Right now, the focus is on Asia Cup, then we have the World T20 and then comes the IPL. We will have a camp in Gujarat with domestic players before the IPL. It is important to have a balanced team with good domestic players.”
The explosive left-hander said he was happy to bat wherever the situation demanded for Team India. “I don’t see it as a problem as we have big hitters across all slots.
“Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya can play big shots. It is important to now maintain a consistent performance graph from here till the World T20. We have a good mix of youth and experience in our team. There are members of the 2007 World T20 team as well as the 2011 World Cup team. And we are fortunate to have them.”
