On This Day in 2020: Suresh Raina brought down curtains on his international career

Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Suresh Raina made his international debut in 2005 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. He went on to flourish under the leadership of MS Dhoni and became a household name due to his exploits in white-ball cricket. Raina was part of the teams that won the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Dhoni and Raina shared great camaraderie and their partnerships won India many matches over the years.

Raina has always been effusive in his praise for Dhoni, whom he considers a brother and a mentor. The southpaw played his last international game in 2018 and had been fighting to regain his spot back in the Indian side for a couple of years. However, on August 15, 2020, Raina decided to draw curtains on his international career as a form of a tribute to Dhoni, who retired a few minutes earlier on the same day.

Like Dhoni, Raina posted a message on Instagram to confirm his retirement. “With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey,” the Uttar Pradesh batter wrote.

Suresh Raina – The underrated gem of Indian cricket

Many fans and cricket experts consider Suresh Raina as India’s best T20 player. His consistency in the Indian Premier League earned him the ‘Mr. IPL’ tagline. In 2010, Raina became the first Indian player to score a century in all three formats at the international level. He was also the first centurion in the shortest format of the game for India.

Towards the latter stage of his career, Suresh Raina had issues with the short ball but he still managed to play around his weakness and notched up some memorable knocks. In 226 ODIs, Raina scored 5615 runs at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 93.51. In 78 T20Is, the 36-year-old has scored 1604 runs at an average of 29.16 and a strike rate of 134.79. He played alongside the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and MS Dhoni for a number of years and the limelight was always more on these stalwarts but the diminutive left-hander went about his work quietly but commendably.