Suresh Raina

Known as ‘Mr. IPL’,  Suresh Raina is arguably among India’s most successful T20I batsmen. He stormed into the Indian side during the Gregg Chappell era and was often touted as the future of Indian cricket.

The left-handed aggressive middle-order batsman made his international debut in 2005. He was included in the ODI squad for India’s away tour of Sri Lanka, and was named in the playing XI for the first match of the series, but had a disastrous start, getting dismissed for a duck.

It was in the home series against England in 2005 where Raina caught the attention of everyone. In the six-match ODI series at home, the dashing player amassed 242 runs at an average of 48, including three half-centuries.

After a scintillating start, his form dipped over the next year and the batsman was eventually dropped from the ODI squad for the next two years.

The southpaw was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. He had a stellar season, registering 421 runs in 16 matches at a strike-rate of over 140. The result of which was a comeback to the Indian team in the shorter formats of the game. 

The left-hander had a great comeback in the 2008 Asia Cup, accumulating 372 runs in six matches, including two centuries.

Raina was a part of the Indian squad for the 2010 World Cup held in West Indies. In a group stage match against South Africa, he became the first Indian to score a century in T20I cricket after scoring 101 off just 60 deliveries against a good quality South African pace attack. 

In the same year he got a chance to make his Test debut for India. Raina was included in the playing XI for the first Test match, and he became the 12th Indian to score a ton on his Test debut. He performed well in the series and finished with 223 runs in two matches.

The batter was drafted in the squad for the 2011 World Cup. He played two crucial knocks in the quarterfinals against Australia and then in the semifinals against Pakistan. 

Red ball cricket was never Raina’s cup of tea. The Ghaziabad born struggled against short pitched deliveries and his lack of foot movement against seaming deliveries brought out his technical flaws in front of the world.

Raina had a really good 2015 World Cup, amassing 274 runs in 8 matches, including a sublime ton against Zimbabwe.

Poor form post the 2015 World Cup led to his omission from the ODI and T20I squad. 

He was constantly in and out of the side and post the 2018 India’s tour of England, the batter has not had many opportunities to cement his place back in the national side.

The first season of the IPL earned Raina a place back in the national squad, and he was always the most reliable player for MS Dhoni’s team. He has been crucial to CSK’s success over the past 14 years and is the leading run scorer for the franchise. Raina was retained ahead of the 2020 IPL season, but the southpaw backed out of the tournament citing ‘personal reasons’. 

On August 15, 2020, the batsman announced his retirement from international cricket, having played 332 matches for his country across all three formats of the game. 

(As of April 21)