Suresh Raina has been an iconic figure of India cricket for a long time. He burst on the scene as a 19 year old and never looked back. The middle order workhorse might not have shiny stats in his kitty but his contributions to India’s success have been immense. Along with his IPL teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he has anchored the Indian innings on numerous occasions and rescued the team from certain defeat. Suresh Raina is very well known for his aggressive batting style and his incredible match winning abilities. His explosiveness with the bat has led to him earning a lot of fans. It’s safe to say that Suresh Raina has completely lived up to his promise as a youngster and provided many years of great cricket for India. In a shocking move, Suresh Raina announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in 2020. He also left the 2020 edition of IPL because of personal reasons. However, he was recently retained by the Chennai Super Kings for the 2021 season of IPL, making him just the fourth cricketer to earn over 100 crores with his IPL salary. Let’s find out some more interesting facts about him.
Suresh Raina: Interesting Facts
When was Suresh Raina born?
Suresh Raina was born on November 27th, 1986 in the town of Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Did Suresh Raina’s father serve in the army?
His father, Trilok Chand, is a retired military officer from Jammu & Kashmir. Born in a family of Kashmiri Pandits, Suresh has four siblings – brothers Dinesh, Naresh and Mukesh and elder sister Renu.
When did Suresh Raia start playing cricket?
Raina decided to play cricket at the age of 14 and moved to Specialist Government Sports College. He progressed to become the captain of Uttar Pradesh U-19 side. He got into limelight after he was selected to represent India U-19 at the age of just 15 years. After impressive performances at a very young age, Raina was awarded a Border-Gavaskar scholarship to train at the Australian Cricket Academy.
When did Suresh Raina make his U-19 World Cup debut?
Raina represented India at the 2004 edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup. He played with some of the future Indian players like Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu. The tournament also featured other future international players who went on to represent their respective countries like Angelo Matthews, Alastair Cook, Vernon Philander and Wahab Riaz among others.
When did Suresh Raina make his senior team debut?
After impressing everyone at the age group levels, Suresh Raina made his debut for India in 2005 against Sri Lanka. He took time to make his Test debut for India. He won his Test cap five years after playing his first ODI for India having played 98 ODIs in that span of time.
Suresh Raina had contrasting performances in his ODI and Test debut matches. He was dismissed LBW by Muthiah Muralitharan for a golden duck on his ODI debut. However, Raina, on his Test debut against the same opposition in 2010, scored an impressive century in a high scoring draw. This achievement made him the 12th Indian to score a century on Test debut.
Who is the first Indian to score a T20I century?
In the 2010 World T20 in West Indies, Suresh Raina became the first Indian to score a century for India in T20I cricket. His 101 runs knock against South Africa at Gros Islet came off just 60 balls and included 9 boundaries and 5 sixes. Only one other player has scored a hundred for India in the T20 format – Rohit Sharma.
Who is India’s youngest T20I captain?
At the age of 23, Suresh Raina went on to become the youngest captain for India in the T20I format. Along with this, he also became the second youngest player to lead India in any format. The youngest player being Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi at the age of 21.
Who is the first Indian cricketer to score a century in all cricket formats?
The stylish left-hander is the first Indian batsman to have racked up a century in all 3 formats of the game. Raina has hit 5 hundreds in ODIs and a solitary one each in T20Is and Tests. The other batsman to have achieved this feat for India is Rohit Sharma.
Which team did Suresh Raina start his IPL career with?
Raina played for the Chennai Super Kings and holds various outstanding records in Indian Premier League. He is the first player to score 3000 runs in the IPL. He holds the record of most no. of catches in the IPL. He was the first Indian player and the second in the world to hit 100 sixes in the IPL. He is the first and only player to have scored over 400 runs in 7 IPL seasons. Raina is also the first and only Indian player to have scored a century in IPL, CLT20, and T20I. Raina has scored 3,699 runs in the 132 matches that he has played for CSK. This includes a century and 25 half-centuries and a highest score of 100 not out. Raina also has the highest strike rate in the IPL history. Raina was signed by the Chennai Super Kings for US$650,000 for the first three years of the tournament. Raina made significant contributions in the first edition of the tournament to compensate the Chennai Super Kings over the losses of key players like Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Jacob Oram. He played a vital Man of the Match performance in the last league fixture to give Chennai Super Kings the win they required to qualify for the semi-finals. Ultimately the Super Kings finished Again in 2010 IPL, Raina’s consistent batting throughout the series won him applause and became the all-time run-getter of the league surpassing Australian legend Adam Gilchrist halfway down the tournament. He also captained the Super Kings for three matches in skipper Dhoni’s absence and took some sensational catches in the field. He scored 520 runs in all, making him the third highest run-getter of the series and the first for Chennai. He also was awarded “best fielder” by the BCCI ahead of the finals. He played a vital half-century which turned the final to Chennai’s tide who ultimately went on to become the champions beating the Mumbai Indians. For his performances in 2010, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.
Which song did Suresh Raina sing?
Earlier this year, Raina also went on to sing a song for a 2015 Bollywood film named ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters.’ It was a romantic number titled ‘Tu Mila Sab Mila’. Apart from his singing skills, the Indian batsman displayed his capability to play the Saxophone on a popular TV show recently.
Did Suresh Raina set the record for most runs scored in the IPL?
At the end of the season, Raina set the record for most runs scored in the tournament, with 421, 434, and 520 and also taking the most no. of catches, two records that are still unbroken Raina also hit the second maximum no. of sixes behind Adam Gilchrist in the three editions of the league. He was retained by the Super Kings for the 2011 Indian Premier League along with Murali Vijay, Albie Morkel and skipper MS Dhoni.
In the 2011 IPL too, Raina maintained his reputation as the leading run-scorer with 438 runs, again being the only player to cross 400 do so for all the seven seasons. His most crucial knock came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Qualifier where he played a stunning innings to get the game back to Chennai’s favour.
How was Suresh Raina’s performance in IPL 2012?
Despite struggling to find form in the initial stages of the 2012 IPL, Raina found form in the latter stages and finished the tournament as Chennai’s leading run scorer, scoring 441 runs and on the course became the only player to score 400 runs in every IPL. He scored a blistering 73 in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders and added 116 with Mike Hussey, who scored a magnificent 86, to help his team put a big total on board. He became the first player in the history of IPL to cross the mark of 2000 IPL runs. For his performances in 2012, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.
In 2013, IPL Raina scored 548 runs at a healthy average of 42.15 and strike rate of 150.13. At the start of the season he was struggling with his form but in the later half, he regained his form. He scored his maiden hundred in IPL against Kings XI Punjab. Raina scored an astonishing 99 not out off 52 deliveries against Sunrisers Hyderabad and helped Chennai Super Kings to score a mammoth 223 runs. This was Chennai Super Kings 3rd highest total. In the 1st Qualifier against MI he along with Hussey pounded MI bowlers to reach a score of 193 for 1. For his performances in 2013, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.
When did Suresh Raina make the Cricinfo CLT20 XI?
For his performances in 2013, he was named in the Cricinfo CLT20 XI.
Has Suresh Raina scored the fastest century in cricket?
On 30 May 2014, he made 87 runs out of 25 balls against Kings XI Punjab. He missed the fastest century of the cricketing history by just 13 runs due to a runout. For his performances in 2014, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI. In Champions League Twenty20 final he played a blistering knock scoring 109* off just 62 balls and made Chennai Super Kings win the 2nd CLT20 title. For his performances in 2014, he was named in the Cricinfo CLT20 XI.
Which other IPL team did Suresh Raina play for?
In 2016, Raina was signed for the Gujarat Lions after the suspension of CSK. He captained the team for the season, and remained consistent with batting, scoring 399 runs in 15 innings. Raina had to leave for the Netherlands in between of season 9 for the birth of his first child thus making him miss his first ever match in nine seasons of IPL.
On the occasion of the 10 year anniversary of IPL, he was also named in the all-time Cricinfo IPL XI.
He was named in the Cricbuzz IPL XI of the tournament for 2017.
In IPL 2018, Raina was retained by the returning Super Kings for a price tag of 11 crore ($1.7 million). During the second game of the tournament, Raina suffered a calf injury, due to which he was ruled out of the next two games. This was the first time Raina missed a CSK game. However, Raina returned after just one game. Chennai went on to win the title in 2018 for the first time since 2011.
On 23 March 2019, in the first match of the 12th edition of the tournament against RCB, he became the first batsman to score 5000 runs in the IPL. Chennai reached the final of 2019 IPL making it their record 8th appearance in the finals but lost to arch rivals Mumbai Indians by 1 run.
Why did Suresh Raina drop out of IPL 2020?
In 2020, Raina flew to UAE where the IPL was to be played due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the Super Kings squad but days later returned to India and withdrew from the 2020 season of IPL citing personal reasons.
Suresh Raina: Best Quotes
I used to practice at the hockey ground on a synthetic surface while I was in the sports hostel, so Test cricket is certainly going to be a challenge for me.
I will never date an actor or a model. My family will never accept her. We are a middle class family, and an actress will never be able to gel with us.
I will go for a simple girl who’s completely in tune with me and who gets along with my family.
My family members are vegetarians, but I like mutton and chicken seek kebabs.
My days in the hostel were tough. I was ragged by my seniors. We were asked to wash their dirty clothes, do their odd jobs, etc. When it came to eating, we would be often given burnt rotis and milk that had awful odour. But, never once did I call home. I knew if I had to become a tough cricketer, I would have to handle the pressure.
The shot of Kapil Dev kissing the World Cup and hordes of Indian fans all over at Lord’s is etched in my memory. Every Indian is proud of that victory, and every Indian player who has played the World Cup after that ’83 win wants to bring the Cup home.
I am very close to my family. I have learned a lot from my father. He used to tell me to be honest with yourself and not to argue with your seniors. You don’t need to be involved in any quarrel, as sometimes you need to remain silent intelligently.
Chennai is a beautiful city; I love the roads here and also know the routes. But one tip for car/bike enthusiasts – your life is most important; so, drive safe!
Is Suresh Raina a member of the 100 crore club?
Yes, when the Chennai Super Kings retained Suresh Raina prior to the IPL 2021 auction, his career IPl earnings went over 100 crores. His 11 crore salary helped him cross that threshold. He is only the fifth cricketer alongside MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to earn over 100 crores from the IPL in his career.
