Suresh Raina, often nicknamed ‘Chinna Thala,’ was born on November 27, 1986, in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. He comes from a Pandit household and is the youngest of all children. He is a retired Indian cricket international.
The left-handed batter is also a part-time right-arm off-spinner and one of the top fielders in the league. In the year 2000, Raina decided to pursue a career in cricket and relocated to Lucknow to join the specialized government Sports Institute. He spent most of his time there playing sports and putting in a lot of effort. He didn’t stop after that.
Suresh Raina made his first-class debut appearance in 2005. Though he began his journey with a duck on his ODI appearance, he later played so effectively that he was given more chances, which he took full advantage of.
Let us take you on a journey of 10 Interesting facts about Suresh Raina
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Kashmiri origins
Suresh Raina’s dad, Trilok Chand, is from Rainawari in the region of Jammu & Kashmir. His mom is from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India. His household, on the other hand, relocated to Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Raina is one of five children, with three older brothers called Dinesh, Mukesh, and Naresh. He also has a sister nicknamed Renu.
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Cricket aspirations:
Raina started to play cricket when he was 14 years old and enrolled at Specialist Government Sports Academy. He rose through the ranks to become the skipper of the Uttar Pradesh U-19 team. He rose to prominence after being chosen to represent India U-19 at the age of 15 years. Raina was granted a Border-Gavaskar fellowship to teach at the Australian Cricket Centre after putting in solid efforts at a young age.
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The layout of the UP Sports Hostel
Suresh Raina had to quit Ghaziabad as a youngster and relocate to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh’s capital, to attend one of the state’s sports dormitories. Raina moved up the age group since his arrival in 1999. According to the regulations, he may maintain his hostel for up to 7 years. Raina left it only in 2006 when he was already a member of the Indian team.
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Qualified in the U-19 World Cup in 2004:
Suresh Raina joined India at the ICC Under 19 World Cup in 2004. He shared the field with future Indian stars such as Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, and Ambati Rayudu.
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He got out on Duck in his first match
Raina’s international appearance, at the age of 18, after being called into the main Indian team following his excellence in local cricket and for official Indian sides, was not one to recall. On July 30, 2005, versus Sri Lanka in Dambulla, the left-hand batter was bowled on the first ball by none other than Spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
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The IPL’s biggest star
Raina has certainly reigned supreme in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Raina has remained with the Chennai Super Kings from the team’s start, except for the second season with the Gujarat Lions when the franchise was prohibited. With 4985 runs at an aggregate of 35.10 in IPL, two hundred, and 34 half-centuries, he is CSK’s all-time top run-scorer. Raina has 96 captures and 36 wickets for Chennai super kings in addition to these figures. His 4985 runs are also the highest for any batter in the IPL.
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Suresh Raina is Youngest Ever Skipper for India in T20Is
Suresh Raina is India’s fastest T20 international skipper. He was 23 when he became India’s first skipper. He is also the second-youngest Indian ODI captain, trailing only Tendulkar.
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A true finisher
Raina has bowled in 55 victorious ODI run-chases for India, averaging 66.60 at a scoring rate of 101.74, with two centuries and 13 half-centuries/Fifties. Only Kohli (98.93), MS Dhoni (97.81), and Rayudu (116.60) have a higher average, while only Virender Sehwag has a higher scoring rate of 105.96.
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A professional chef
Suresh Raina has stated in several interviews that he enjoys cooking. In an interview, he claimed that during his maiden tour as skipper of the Indian team, he and Ashok Dinda prepared food for the entire team.
10. Bollywood musician
Suresh Raina also sang a song for the 2015 Bollywood movie ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters previously this year. It was a love song called ‘Tu Mila Sab Mila.’ Aside from his singing abilities, the Indian batter recently showed his option to perform the Saxophone on a popular Television show.
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