Suresh Raina ’s ball-striking ability was spoken of in India’s cricketing circles since he was a young boy. Every once in a while, there co...
Suresh Raina’s ball-striking ability was spoken of in India’s cricketing circles since he was a young boy. Every once in a while, there comes a player whose talent shines through so brightly that it’s almost easy to predict they will go a long way. Raina was one such player.
For Uttar Pradesh, Mohammad Kaif was the batting hero in the first half of the 2000s. But around the time he stole the spotlight with his NatWest Trophy heroics in 2002, Raina was starting to make a mark at the age-group level. And as Kaif himself put it, the southpaw’s popularity in his state was always unparalleled.
Raina was a prolific scorer in junior cricket. After captaining the UP Under-16 team, he quickly rose to the India U-19 side and the Ranji Trophy. He, Manoj Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu were the young batsmen making the most buzz around that time. But it was Raina who broke into the Indian team first, with a One-Day International against Sri Lanka in 2005.
His legacy may well be defined by his shot-making in the shorter formats but in the early phase of his career, Raina was very much a classical batsman. An uncomplicated stance, good balance and a clean swing of the bat meant his...
