Suresh Raina
The talented southpaw was touted as a 'future batting great' in his early days. Listen to him assess his own ...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Lively, agile and graceful
Attributes: Left hand middle-order batsman and right arm offbreak bowler
Suresh Raina is a flamboyant left-handed batsman and an extraordinary fielder from Uttar Pradesh who was recognised as a prodigy from his initial years in school itself. In the vein of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan, the UP phenomenon is an invention of the strong Under-19 system in India. The players mentioned here earned their stripes courtesy their exposure to the U/19 World Cups.
With his flashy batting style and attacking instincts, the 21-year old put on show a blaze of brilliance, and the talent to counter top-class bowling attacks in the world during his stint in the India ODI outfit in 2006. With an array of strokes in his armory, experts believe the youngster has shots for nearly every ball. He has proven the same with his success on pitches abroad at the U/19 level.
Background and Early Days
Over the past few years, Uttar Pradesh has been producing some talented cricketers for the national squad and Raina is one of them. Being the youngest child in his family, he started taking the sport seriously at age 13. He was brought up in the city of Ghaziabad, where the government is known to persuade young boys to take sports seriously by providing scholarships in colleges. Raina is from Lucknow Sports College which also holds the reputation of producing the likes of Mohammad Kaif
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Prominence at the Under-19 level
His impressive performances for the UP junior level teams earned him a call into the India U/19s in 2002. He came into prominence on the U/19 and U/17 tours of England and Sri Lanka respectively. A year later, Raina made his Ranji debut for Uttar Pradesh aged 16. The southpaw played only a single match in his maiden domestic season.
The youngster made a thundering impact in the 2003-2004 season. He was part of the national team that won the U/19 Asian ODI Championship in Pakistan. He was also part of the team for the U/19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The dashing batsman scored three half-centuries in the tournament. His knock of 90 runs off only 38 balls helped him hog the limelight.
His excellent display at the junior level helped him win a Border-Gavaskar scholarship to train at the Australian Cricket Academy. After gaining some valuable experience Down Under, Raina returned to the Indian domestic circuit in 2005.
Ranji Career
He made his first-class limited overs debut in 2005, where he piled on a thumping 645 runs at an average of 53.75. Suresh Raina was also instrumental in Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy glory in the 2005-06 season, notching up 620 runs in 6 games. The 21-year old was selected for the Challenger series where he impressed one and all with his batting skills, exuberance and athletic ability.
Greg Chappell after Suresh Raina’s first MOM performance:
“He (Raina) needs to be sensitively handled by India. The way he dismantled England during an ODI in Faridabad in March 2006 hinted at a rare genius. Aged 20, he has plenty of time on his side,"
Sate coach (UP) Rajinder Singh Hans on the sensation:
"He (Raina) has the best punch among youngsters. His shots in front and square are flawless. Great timing."
Rahul Dravid’s words of wisdom:
Entry to international cricket
Suresh Raina huddled with the big boys in 2005 during the Indian Oil Cup in 2005. He had a forgettable start to his international career as spin wizard Muralitharan (please check spelling) dismissed him for a golden duck on debut. After averaging a meagre 12.33 in the series, Raina failed to find a regular place in the final XI for the next series.
After Ganguly’s sacking from the team, the gifted teenager (then) got an opportunity to cement himself in the team. He coupled electric fielding with some match-winning knocks to gain some revere in the eyes of former coach Greg Chappell and skipper Rahul Dravid. He was an integral component of the Indian team that won a world-record 16 matches while chasing during the 2005-06 season.
He earned his first Man of the Match award in the ODI series against England after scoring an unbeaten 81 in a successful run-chase at Faridabad. The Ghaziabad-born batsman scored two more half-centuries in the same series.
He was fast-tracked into the Test side against England in March 2006, and on the subsequent tour to the West Indies, although Raina is yet to make his Test debut.
A poor run of form in late 2006 and injury troubles enforced an axe on the youngster from both squads. Raina was not a part of India’s 2007 World Cup debacle.
The Comeback
In January 2008, Suresh Raina earned another recall into the Indian squad for the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia after two highly successful Ranji seasons. The left-hander has been presented with another opening to grasp his dream, especially due to top-class players like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar reaching the fag end of their careers.
The highly spirited Raina transmits plenty of energy to the team with his mere presence on the field. His on-field antics are similar to Kaif but his consistency of hitting the stumps directly helps him beat his contemporaries. With his splendid accuracy, Raina has already inflicted several run-outs in the international circuit to his credit.
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Why a Young Gun?!
- One of the best fielders India has produced in the last decade
- “Wisden Cricketer” magazine names him as one of the 10 players who would define the game in the next decade
- Regarded by Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell as the future of Indian batting
- He holds the capability to dismantle any bowling attack with his flashy and flamboyant batting style
- He brings plenty of energy and exuberance with his livewire attitude on the field
