Batting legend Rahul Dravid on Tuesday (August 18) paid a heartfelt tribute to the just-retired Suresh Raina, saying the southpaw was a “terrific team man” who could have aggregated more runs if he had batted up the order.
WATCH: ‘Raina deserved better,’ Aakash Chopra reacts on early retirement of southpaw
Raina, 22, shocked one and all as he called time on his India career on Saturday (August 15), minutes after the legendary MS Dhoni announced his international retirement.
“A lot of success that India had in white-ball cricket, a lot of great moments and memories that India had over the last decade and a half, Suresh has been a really big part of that. I think his contribution in white-ball cricket has been fantastic,” Dravid said in a video posted by Raina on Instagram.
“He is a World cup winner and Champions Trophy winner. He contributed so much on the field, his energy, the enthusiasm he brought, the way he raised the standard of field …”
Suresh Raina made his India debut against Sri Lanka in an ODI in Dambulla on July 30, 2005. While he got out on first-ball duck in his maiden international appearance, the left-hander went on to establish himself as one of India’s leading white-ball cricketers.
Raina represented the country in 226 ODIs, amassing 5615 runs at an average of 35.15 with 5 hundreds and 36 half-centuries. He also featured in 78 T20Is, scoring 1605 runs at a strike-rate of 134.87, including 1 ton and 5 fifties.
“One thing we always felt is that Suresh did all the difficult things,” said Dravid, who is the current NCA chief.
“For most part of his career, he batted lower down the order, fielded at difficult positions and bowled some handy overs and always brought a lot to the team. A terrific team man, who always gave his best, brought great energy to the game and a very skillful batter.”
“Honestly his numbers could have been a lot better if he had batted higher up the order, that has been shown in the success he had for CSK (Chennai Super Kings) in the IPL where he bats at no 3. He has been a phenomenal player for IPL.”
With 5368 runs to his name from 193 IPL games, Raina is the second highest run-getter in the history of the T20 league after India skipper Virat Kohli (5412 runs from 177 matches).
“I guess he couldn’t replicate the success of his debut hundred and couldn’t build on that in his Test career but I think his contribution to One-day cricket was fantastic. He was part of a very successful Indian one-day team over the last decade and a half,” Dravid said.
The former India skipper also pointed out that Raina showed a glimpse of his exceptional talent even during his junior days.
“Suresh Raina is one of those really young exciting talents who came through the Indian system in the 2004-05, playing under-19 cricket and doing exceptionally well. You could see even in that time that Suresh was going to be a very very important player for India and that’s how it played out in a decade and a half.”
