Dhoni, Priyanka, CSK and World Cup 2011: Suresh Raina on his favourite people and moments
The cricketer, in his recently released autobiography, ‘Believe’, talks about the people and moments he has cherished the most
Suresh Raina is a good example to make a case that a sportsperson’s legacy cannot be measured in mere numbers. Let’s take a look at his international runs in each format: 768 in 18 Tests, 5615 in 226 ODIs, and 1605 in 78 T20Is. Even in ODIs, his most-played format, he is just the 11th highest run-getter for India. He might not make it to the all-time great lists in Indian cricket (except fielding, maybe) but he indisputably earned a lot of love in his 13 years of playing international cricket.
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Raina is best remembered not through his numbers but through a few seemingly insignificant but character-revealing acts on the field like his valiant dive to convert a single into a two in the death overs of an innings or his joyous leaps to celebrate when a teammate picks up a wicket.
Raina is an emotional cricketer. During a practice session seven years ago, Sachin Tendulkar told him, “You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe you can do miracles.” The words from the great man meant so much to Raina that he tattooed the word ‘Believe’ on his right bicep the same day.
Believe (published by Penguin) also happens to be the title of his recently released autobiography. Through the book, Raina, with the help of sports writer Bharat Sundaresan, looks back at his life. He speaks to The Hindu on the people and moments he cherishes the most in this journey.
