Suresh Raina

Batting style: Left Handed bat Bowling style: Off break Played for: India Under-19, India, Chennai Super Kings Roles played: Skipper-ODI, T20 | Batsman ICC Rank: Test ODI Batting: 55 Bowling: 56 Home country: India Born: November 27, 1986, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Profile The gradual moldings of young southpaw Suresh Raina, as an accomplished batsman in all forms of the game, is a perfect case study for the Indian selectors to focus on developing world-beaters instead of expecting to chance upon them.

Making his debut as an 18-year-old, Raina's inexperience showed as he succumbed to a first-ball Muttiah Muralidaran googly 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 Ranjis and the IPL to knock hard on selection doors. When he returned after being dropped for a year-and-half in 2008, three centuries and a dozen half-centuries marked his renewed desire to make the most of opportunities, an intent highlighted by three stand-out knocks in the 2008 Asia Cup. By the time Raina made his commanding century on Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2010, he already had

ample limited overs experience with nearly a 100 ODIs, three successful seasons of the IPL and a captaincy stint; all at the age of 23!

In 2011, he was amongst the 15 Indian players who saw history being created at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, where the Men in Blue lifted the coveted World Cup trophy after 28 long years. Raina was always in and around the playing eleven, sometimes as a substitute fielder taking important catches and otherwise scoring valuable runs with the bat.

In everything that Suresh Raina does on the field, there is an underlying sincerity that is all too visible. In each shot - both explosive and deft - Raina's confidence is evident. Even when he seems to struggle, it's brazen for all to observe. Excellent fielding abilities reflect a mantra of compensating any possible short-coming in skill with a raging will to fight and win. It's that trait which has formed a common thread among most players who emerged under MS Dhoni, co-incidentally or otherwise! Fast Facts
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Suresh Raina was awarded a Border-Gavaskar scholarship in 2004 to train at the Australian Cricket Academy. He became the third overall and the first Indian to score a T20I century (101 vs. South Africa in the 2010 World T20). Raina was the 12th Indian to score a century on Test debut. He became the fourth batsman to score a century in all three formats of cricket after Gayle, McCullum and Jayawardena.

Test Debut: India Vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo - Jul 26, 2010 Last played: India Vs West Indies at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica - Jul 06, 2011 ODI Debut: India Vs Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri Jul 30, 2005 Last played: India Vs West Indies at Sabina Park, Kingston - Jamaica - Jun 16, 2011 T20 Debut: India Vs South Africa at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Dec 01, 2006 Last played: India Vs West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad - Jun 04, 2011 IPL Debut: Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali - Chandigarh - Apr 19, 2008 Last played: Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - May 28, 2011 CLT20 Debut: Chennai Super Kings Vs Central Stags at Kings mead, Durban - Sep 11, 2010 Last played: Chennai Super Kings Vs Warriors at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg - Sep 26, 2010