Former India batsman Suresh Raina turned 34 on Friday, and legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar led the wishes for the player. Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar wrote," Wishing my teammate and friend @ImRaina a very happy birthday. Your enthusiasm on the field has always been infectious. Have a great year ahead." The two players were part of the Indian team which won the ODI World Cup in 2011, under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Raina further received wishes from former cricketers Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh.
Cricketer-turned politician Gautam Gambhir wished the former Indian batsman the "best of health and happiness". "Happy birthday @ImRaina! Cheers to all our memorable moments, I wish you the best of health & happiness! Have a great year ahead," read the message from Gambhir on Twitter.
Yuvraj expressed similar warmth in his tweet, urging the cricketer to get back to "smashing the ball out of the park".
Here is what others from the sports fraternity had to say on his birthday:
While Suresh Raina has announced his retirement from international cricket, he continues to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Raina pulled out of the recently concluded 13th edition of the IPL, returning home after initially travelling to Dubai with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad.
Raina played 18 Tests, 78 T20Is and 226 50-over matches during his international career. The 34-year-old scored 768 runs in the longest format, 1,605 runs in T20Is and 5,615 runs in ODI cricket.