UP’s own Raina too hangs his boots
Among 12 international cricketers from state so far, ex-inmate at Lucknow Hostel played 226 ODIs under Dhoni
LUCKNOW: Call it a ‘friendly gesture’ or ‘special bonding’, but it was a perfect timing when Uttar Pradesh’s Suresh Raina too announced his retirement from all forms of International cricket, just after the former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his, on Saturday evening in Chennai. The 33-yearold cricketer took to Instagram to break the news just minutes after Dhoni did the same.
“Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as retired,” Dhoni posted on his Instagram handle first, and minutes after that Raina followed suit with an announcement of his own also on Instagram saying: “It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @mahi7781. With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in your journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind.”
Raina, 33, who shares a great camaraderie with the former Indian captain MS Dhoni, was an indispensable part of Dhoni’s white-ball sides for a major part of his career, winning the 2011 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy under him. The left-hand batsman played as many as 153 of his 226 ODIs under Dhoni.
Raina also captained India in 12 ODIs between 2010 and 2014. In the IPL too, the two have had a long partnership, which will continue next month; Dhoni is the only IPL captain Raina has played under, except when Raina himself led Gujarat Lions.
A native of Muradnagar in Ghaziabad, but always a man from Lucknow where he grew learning cricket at the state government-run Guru Gobind Singh Sports College first and at the then cricket hostel in Gomti Nagar, Raina has been the best cricketer from Uttar Pradesh so far as his 23,341 runs, including 6,871 in 109 first class matches, speak the volume of his great calibre.
“Raina’s contribution to the game is immense and his contribution for the uplift of UP’s image as a dominant force in the domestic cricket would always be remembered,” says his former captain and junior national selector Gyanendra Pandey on Sunday.
“Raina’s sparkling batting in UP’s maiden Ranji Trophy win in 2005-06 against Bengal, UP’s first ever title win jointly with Tamil Nadu in Vijay Hazare Trophy and later his leadership and contribution in winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2016 are the testimony of his being a great player in UP’s cricket,” added Pandey, who himself led UP to new heights in domestic cricket, leading the side to Ranji Trophy final in 1998 after a long gap of 20 years.
UP’s first-ever Test cricketer in post Independence era, Gopal Sharma, too admired Raina’s contribution to the game both in UP and India. “His (Raina’s) contribution to the UP cricket can never be ignored, but I think he should have continued playing cricket for two more years,” said Sharma.
His coach at the cricket hostel, Pramod Kumar Gupta said that he was always a great admirer of Raina’s ability as a great hitter of the ball. “Even at the hostel nets he always looked a difficult man for the bowlers and he used to strike big hits,” said Gupta, under whose tenure other hosteller and pacer RP Singh too played for India.
Raina, who started his international debut against Sri Lanka in 2005 with a first-ball duck off Muttiah Muralitharan, went on to feature in 226 ODIs, scoring 5615 runs at 35.31 while notching up five centuries and 36 half-centuries in the format. He made 78 T20I appearances, accumulating 1605 runs with a hundred and five fifties.
Raina, who scored 75 in 114ball with the help of 10 fours and a six in his last Ranji Trophy game vs Jharkhand here in December 2018, enjoyed his most successful year in ODI cricket in 2008, when he scored 680 runs in 18 innings at an average of 45.33 and a strikerate above 100.
He also had a 40-plus average in 2012, recording 492 runs at 41.00 in 17 innings. His unbeaten knocks of 34 and 36 in successful chases against Australia and Pakistan in the quarter-final and semi-final at the India’s 2011 World Cup victory was notable performances.
In ODIs, he finished after 13 years - the last match in July 2018 in England - with 5615 runs from 226 games at an average of 35.31, with five centuries and 36 halfcenturies. In 78 T20Is, he scored 1605 runs, averaging 29.18, at a strike rate of 134.87, also including a hundred a five fifties.
He was a part of India’s first T20I, in South Africa in 2006, and was also the first Indian to score a T20I hundred, again against South Africa in the 2010 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. But Raina played only 18 Tests, the last of which came against Australia in January 2015 - in what was a comeback after a two-year gap - when he scored two ducks.
Besides being a perfect hitter of the ball, especially in the white ball cricket, Raina always remained an integral part of India’s revolution in fielding, setting the bar high with his athleticism on field. He claimed 167 catches in his international career. He was also part of the runners-up India side in the 2014 T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka won.
In ODIs, Dhoni and Raina still hold the record for most runs scored for the fifth wicket overall, with a tally of 2421 that include five centuries and 13 half-centuries.