RETIREMENT WAS NOT PLANNED, I FELT I WAS DONE: SURESH RAINA

The former cricketer reveals why he retired at his peak, adds that the sport has taught him to be more patient and humble

Last year’s Independence Day saw two cricketers make headline for their retirement. Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of cricket and just minutes later, Suresh Raina took to Instagram to announce he was hanging up his gloves. It almost looked planned, but Raina, 34, clarifies that it wasn’t. “Retirement wasn’t planned. I was at my peak, but I just felt I was done. I really enjoyed playing with him and I thought [I should] give more time for my family and kids. I didn’t spend much time with my parents and my siblings as I went to boarding school when I was young. Retirement was very personal,” he shares.

The World Cup winner, who will be seen playing for Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) next month, says that the lockdown imposed due to the pandemic did not deter him from maintaining his fitness. “I am a professional cricketer. I have to be very sensible. I know what’s my plan and goal. When you are playing international cricket and you enjoy your game, you need to work hard. Though I spent a lot of time with my family, there were days when I thought how would things resume. Mentally, you are strong as a sportsperson. But physically, when you don’t have the space, you need to dig in to know what kind of exercises you can do. But luckily, I live very close to Ghaziabad and I could train on the grounds,” he says.

Raina is the first Indian to score centuries in all three formats of the sport (Test, ODI and T20) and has been lauded for his fielding skills apart from being recognised as an aggressive middle-order batsman. The left-hander, who made his debut at the age of 18 against a strong Sri Lankan team, says that the sport has made him more responsible. “I am more tough now. I come from a family who are not much into sports they all focused on their studies. I used to feel that this (cricket) is my passion. Sports taught me to be humble and that I need to be patient. One team will win, another will lose, but you go to the ground and you comeback with a smiling face. That is what I have learnt from my international career,” adds Raina, who was the second youngest player to captain the Indian team.

Raina agrees that “cricket is a religion”, and this also means that there are a lot of eyes on your performance. But, have the critics ever bothered him or added pressure on him? “Critics have motivated me. I used to put in more work and once you are in the zone [during a game], you need to score as much as you can. And I don’t regret anything. My captain always told me, ‘If you fail, we will back you and if you succeed, we will be there with you’,” he signs off.

Though I spent a lot of time with my family, there were days when I thought how would things resume. SURESH RAINA, Former cricketer