Suresh
Raina
India• Batsman
About Suresh Raina
At the raw age of 18, a fresh-faced Suresh Raina broke into the Indian ODI squad with a reputation of possessing loads of talent, similar to the way Yuvraj Singh broke into the international scene. However, Raina's career has since resembled a cardiograph showing variable readings at different junctures.
Making his ODI debut against Sri Lanka, Raina fell for a first-ball duck to a Muttiah Muralidaran doosra in 2005. But a determined effort to validate his selection soon hallmarked his approach. Often, after disappointments at the international level, Raina came back with strong domestic displays in the Ranji Trophy and the Indian T20 League to knock hard on the doors of the selectors.
When he returned after being dropped for a year and half in 2008, he came back with a bang with good performances in the Asia Cup. By the time Raina made a commanding century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2010, he already had ample limited overs experience with nearly 100 ODIs, three successful seasons of the Indian T20 League and a captaincy stint; all at the age of 23. However, his shaky technique against quality pace bowling and more importantly his inefficiency to tackle steep bounce kept him on the shores of the Test squad more often than not.
He then became the first Indian player to score a ton in all formats of the game when he smashed South Africa all round the park in the 2010 World T20. He played a small but vital hand in India winning the World Cup in 2011 and has always remained in the side with the odd bad phase. Post 2015 though, his form has dipped and he has lost his place in the ODI side. His Indian T20 League form is on the decline but he still remains in the frame for the shortest format of the game.