Former India batsman Suresh Raina recalled many memories with teammate and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar in a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo's Cricket Monthly. Raina, who retired from international cricket in 2020, talked about sharing a dressing room and many victories with the legend.
“I had many memorable moments with paaji once I started playing for India. The biggest one obviously is winning the 2011 World Cup, but apart from that, winning the CB series in Australia [in 2008], the ODI and Test series in New Zealand [in 2008-09], and becoming the No. 1 Test team. I was at the other end when paaji scored his 100th international hundred,” Raina recalled.
Sachin Tendulkar got his 100th international century against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup 2012 match and Suresh Raina was at the non-striker’s to witness history being made, as Tendulkar became the first and only batsman to achieve this landmark.
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Raina and Tendulkar were part of an 86-run partnership with the former left-hander scoring a fifty. Raina revealed that what Tendulkar told him after reaching his century, made him realize how much weight Tendulkar carried mentality of the expectations of more than a billion cricket crazy fans.
“After he took a single off Shakib [Al Hasan] to reach the milestone, I congratulated him saying, ‘Well done, paaji, it was due for so many months.’ He said, ‘My hair has turned grey waiting for this moment.’ That’s when I realised how much mental weight he was carrying all that while,” Raina said.
Tendulkar retired from ODIs after playing the Asia Cup and retired from Tests a year later in 2013, after completing 200 Tests on his home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
(ESPNCricinfo's Cricket Monthly inputs)
