Suresh Raina, perhaps India’s best T20 batsman, burst onto the world stage as a youthful prodigy during the Greg Chappell era. Raina was selected by the Chennai franchise for a reasonable price, and he put on a stellar performance in the first season of its IPL, earning him a recall to the national squad shortly after.
Raina solidified his place as a capable finisher for the team after that, frequently providing valuable cameos in addition to taking the big hits whenever the opportunity arose. Raina’s task was primarily to put the last polish to India’s innings, given their strong top and middle order.
The figures don’t quite convey how important he was throughout the 2008-2011 period, which was clearly one of the best in Team India’s International history, culminating in World Championships success.
Raina was the first Indian player to score centuries in all 3 formats of the game, and while he didn’t enjoy red-ball cricket, his efforts in other formats were crucial to Indian cricket. His short ball fear has remained a source of debate, despite the fact that even in limited-overs games, with today’s regulations and laws, that cannot be a debilitating weakness for a batter.
His ODI hundred in England during the 2014 trip signaled a return to form in that area, however after a number of dismal series following the 2015 world Cup, he was dropped from the team.
Suresh Raina in IPL
Raina was vital to the success of Chennai Super Kings. CSK had the option of attacking and did it with a lot of capacity left down in the future thanks to his blazing left-hand playing style at No. 3. Raina’s impact on the team is evidenced by the fact that he is now the highest run-getter in the IPL era and he is fittingly called “Chinna Thala” by CSK supporters. In a competition like the IPL, the lofted straight drive is a stroke that spectators savor to see as he bravely plays without hesitation.
His best IPL score was 100 not out against Kings eleven Punjab in Chennai in IPL 2013, but his offense (87 runs off only 25 balls) against KXIP in Qualifier game 2 in 2015 stands out from other his IPL achievements.
Raina likewise bowls a handy right-arm off-spinner that Dhoni frequently utilized when he needed to find a major breakthrough or start something different. However, he hasn’t bowled in a long time, and the skipper has a lot of other choices.
Raina captained the Gujarat Lions as well as CSK during their two-year exile following the 2015 season. When CSK emerged from its suspension, he was among 3 players that remained with the team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in IPL history and is affectionately known as ‘Mr.IPL’ because of his domination in the league, in which he has made more than 400 runs each year except for two seasons.
