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Full name Suresh Raina
Born November 27, 1986, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Major teams India, India Under-19s, Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Under-16s
Also known as Sanu
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Born November 27, 1986, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Major teams India, India Under-19s, Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Under-16s
Also known as Sanu
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
| An aggressive young batsman who has dismantled bowling attacks across the country, the prodigious Raina puts people in mind of Yuvraj Singh. A string of fine performances at the junior levels - where he frequently bullied his way to double-hundreds - landed him a spot in the India Under-19 squad. The youngest in a family of five children, Raina decided to take up cricket seriously in 1999, and moved from his home town of Ghaziabad, near New Delhi to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. His 620 runs in six games, in the 2005-06 season, propelled Uttar Pradesh to Ranji Trophy glory and a couple of composed knocks, when given the opportunity in one-dayers, got Rahul Dravid to gush: "Raina has shown what a phenomenal player he can turn into." His electric fielding added zing to the one-day side and it came as no surprise when, even before getting an ODI fifty, he was fast-tracked into the Test side against England in March 2006, and on the subsequent tour to the West Indies. However, his early promise turned into a false dawn - he couldn't manage a half-century in 15 innings - and lost his place in the one-day side on the South African tour. He played two ODIs in January 2007 but was not recalled until a year later, when India named their 16-man squad for the CB Series in Australia. Raina finally played to his true potential in the Asia Cup, slamming two centuries and finishing the second-highest run-getter. He has since emerged as a commendable Twenty20 batsman, collecting heaps of runs for Chennai Super Kings Australia vs. India Match..... |  |
The time he spent in sports hostels in Lucknow, fighting off spells of depression and disappointment, and rising above the hardships is an example for the current generation.
His cricket lessons were not learnt at luxurious academies. Raina had the backing of his family but not the financial pampering. He hails from a background where academics, and not sports, formed the basis of a career. The only time he got a spanking was when he hitch-hiked his way home and knocked the door at 2 in the morning. “In the last five years, I have hardly been home for 30 days,” he smiles