Dubai: Suresh Raina, one of India’s finest attacking batsmen, has a mindset which transforms his talent into success.
Hailing from a middle class family as the son of an army officer, he scaled to heights of fame through his exploits on the cricket field.
Raina is among the very few batsmen who have hit centuries in all three formats of the game, and the first Indian to achieve that honour. He has been the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) superstar as the highest run-getter in this tournament’s history.
When Gulf News asked on how he has shaped his career, Raina explained in depth not only about his playing style but almost everything about him candidly - the manner in which he approaches the game, relaxes away from the game, takes setbacks and fame and also his views on his future. His revelations were amazing, and it was like a journey through the mind of a cricketer whom fans want to see perform consistently.
One of my first questions to him was about how it would be to play for a new team like Rajkot after being part of the successful Chennai team since the inception of the tournament. His answers were not confined to just about the new team but the influence of IPL in his life. “Rajkot will be a new challenge. I have played eight years nonstop for Chennai, never missed a single game and have earned a lot of respect from the fans and have learned lots of good things from my teammates and became a better person, a better player over the years. I have got money for my family too and so everything has been fantastic. God has been really kind to help me win all those trophies. We had a wonderful time. Next two years we have a different challenge. My Chennai skipper Mahe (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) is playing for Pune and I am playing for Rajkot and there is going to be a lot of emotion in the next year’s IPL but we are all professional sportsmen so these things don’t make a difference especially in expressing ourselves on the field. So I am looking forward to the stint.”
To a query on what makes a winning combination, Raina said: “I think in IPL, which is a shorter format, it is all about your discipline. You travel a lot during the event and it is all about how you enjoy yourself in the back to back matches and accept franchise pressures. You need to switch off and switch on whether playing against Kolkata or Mumbai Indians. If you do proper process, and look after your body and maintain your diet, you can surely enjoy it.”
Raina then went on to explain how much he learned from cricketers in the IPL. “I think I have learned a lot from Stephen Fleming, Matthew Hayden, Gary Kirsten, and Kepler Wessel as all of them were left handers. All left hand batsmen turned coaches, they all know how you bat and this has helped me a lot.”
So how did you learn to be an aggressive batsman? “I worked hard for it. If I am playing a match tomorrow, then I would be practicing for two hours. It’s all about preparation. Whenever I go for an international tour, I prepare myself mentally two months before it. In fact, it is very important to know how I am feeling mentally. Sometimes you think I have not done well in the past so I have to do well in the future but the most important thing is to live in the present. You need to be spot on with your work.”
Raina has learned to take setbacks too and when asked how he has taken the recent set back of being dropped from the Indian team for the Australian tour, he said: “It always happens to every sportsperson. I don’t say that I am a God of cricket. I may do well tomorrow but may not do well the day after. Similarly, I may do well today but might not do well in the next six months, but what is important is to remain very humble. This game is very strong and I believe that if you respect this game then definitely the game will reward you. My Dad has always told me that you need to just do the process well because a lot of players want to play for the Indian team and everyone wants to be part of the IPL team. There is so much pressure there and it all depends on how hard you work on your game.”
Raina also candidly hit out at critics who point out that cricketers make a lot of money. “All cricketers have a life span. Many think they are getting lots of money, but they don’t see how they prepare themselves. It is very easy to say they are getting everything but they should also know how much hard work they are putting on the field to remain successful. Every cricketer has to stay away from wife, kids, family, Mum and Dad and often they come home only after three or four months and fly out again for another series.”
Raina has his own ways of keeping himself fresh. “I love singing. When you are playing so much under pressure, you need to calm down. I enjoy listening to Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Shreya Ghoshal and Lata Mangeshkar. Sometimes I keep meeting some of the top singers during functions and people ask for a cricketer who can sing and I oblige. Most of the cricketers relax listening to songs, some listen to Sufi songs. Recently my wife Priyanka (Chaudhary) gifted me a Saxophone. I am learning it by even taking classes. Basically, you need to switch off from cricket a bit and so you can come back stronger. I recently sang for a Bollywood film named ‘Meeruthiya Gangsters’ (a romantic number titled ‘Tu Mili Sab Mila’). It was a good experience. I also love cooking, so I cook with my Mum. I just want to be happy as I live for tomorrow and enjoy my life.”
Raina named former India captain Rahul Dravid as the cricketer who has influenced him most. “Dravid was my mentor, my coach and I got my India cap from him. He used to observe me from my Under-19 days when I went to England in 2001. He always played with me at the Bangalore National Cricket Academy. He used to play for Indian Cements, and I for Air India and he always had an affection towards me. He always knew which player can play for India. He was a great captain and a great warrior in the dressing room. If something went wrong Rahul bhai (brother) he would step forward. Even if he was having his food he will be the first person to take up the responsibility and if someone needed help he would be the first to take him to hospital. Dhoni is another wonderful person, very down to earth. He has made himself the world’s best captain despite coming from a small town. What he has done for Indian cricket is tremendous. He won the IPL so many times, won World Cup in 2007 and 2011 and even the Champions Trophy and definitely he will win the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup too. God maybe planning something for him because I believe if you are good to the game and good to your teammates, everything will fall in place. We have to be just patient.”
Raina achieved the enviable record of becoming the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in the IPL. He has a philosophy about the achievement. : “It is not through power I achieved it, but by timing the ball. The game has changed and all players can hit sixes. Everyone wants enjoyment and we all are entertainers. We have to go there and play like a champ.”
Raina then went on to add that what pleases him the most is when his innings transforms into a match winning one. “I have always done well at No.3 in the IPL. I am the highest run getter in IPL by the grace of God and all my hard work and due to my fans’ blessings. If you bat up the order you always have the advantage to score big runs but if you bat at middle order you might get to bat only from 30 overs or sometimes with only one ball left and you are expected to hit it for a six. Sometimes such attempts get you out and then statistics may say that in the last ten innings I haven’t scored a 50 but you have to go through all these when you do something special. Setbacks make you a better person, make you a tougher player.”
Raina fondly remembers his most satisfying century. “My most satisfying was my century on my Test debut against Sri Lanka. I was waiting to play in a Test match because I had played it after 98 One Day Internationals. Hundreds always count for me only when the team wins. If I score 30 runs in 10 balls and if my team wins then it is more important for me and that makes me a special player. If you score 100 in 120 balls and your team loses it only goes into statistics. I am a team man, I love to play for my team, love to play for my teammates and I love to play for my fans.”
