Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina Picks This Current IPL Star To "Bat For His Life"
In an international career spanning 13 years, Suresh Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is.
- Suresh Raina chose MS Dhoni as the player to bat for his life due to his game control
- Raina and Dhoni were key in India’s 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy triumphs
- Raina poked fun at Mohamed Shami for sleeping on the bus and labelled Shane Watson as most competitive player
Former cricketer Suresh Raina has picked legendary India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni as the player he would want to bat for his life. Raina and Dhoni share a strong bond, both on and off the field, having shared the dressing room for many years at CSK and with the Indian team. The two were part of India's 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy squads. In the IPL, they were instrumental in CSK lifting four of their five titles between 2008 and 2021.
During a recent interaction, when asked which player he'd choose to bat for his life, Raina replied, "MS Dhoni. He always controls the situation. The way he reads the game and the runs we scored, he used to give different advice. He was always there to win the game," Raina said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast.
In the same video, Raina was also asled to name a player 'who would sleep on the bus', 'the most competitive player' and 'the most underrated player'.
"(One who sleeps on bus) - Mohamed Shami used to sleep on the bus," Raina revealed.
"(Most competitive player) - Shane Watson. Very very nice human being but he was very competitive."
"(Most underrated batsman) - Ishan Kishan. He is very very strong player. He's done really well. When he does well, he has powerful shots," Raina said.
In a 13-year international career, Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is. ODI was his strongest format, where he scored 5,615 runs in 226 matches at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 93.50, including five hundreds and 36 fifties.
Raina also gathered 1,605 runs in 78 T20Is for India. He scored a century on his Test debut and is also the first Indian to score hundreds in all three formats of cricket, with all of his centuries coming outside India.
While playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Suresh Raina has 5,528 runs to his name in 205 matches, with 39 half-centuries and one century at a strike rate of 136.76.
(With ANI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
Chennai Super Kings
MS Dhoni
Suresh Raina