“Suresh Raina has been one of the key performers for India in white-ball cricket,” said Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday as the left-handed batter Raina decided to call time on his international career. Raina had announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, just minutes after Dhoni’s announcement of retirement.
The BCCI also confirmed that Raina conveyed his decision to retire to the board on Sunday.
“Suresh Raina has been one of the key performers in limited-overs cricket for India. Coming lower down the order and playing some of the match-winning knocks requires a lot of skill and talent,” Ganguly said in a release issued by BCCI.
“He along with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni formed a solid middle order for India in ODIs. I wish him and his family all the very best,” he added.
Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI congratulated Raina on a remarkable career and labelled the left-handed batter as one of the finest to play the shortest format.
“Suresh Raina has been arguably one of the finest T20 batsmen. A live wire on the field, Raina’s prowess as a left-handed batsman was exhibited throughout his cricketing career,” Jay Shah said.
“A big match player, Raina’s cameo against Australia in the quarterfinal in the 2011 World Cup was a testimony to his glittering career that followed. I wish him all the very best in the second innings of his career,” he added.
A world-class fielder and a useful bowler, Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is in an international career spanning 13 years. A member of the victorious World Cup-winning team in 2011, Raina first made his international debut at the age of 18 and also led India in ODIs and T2OIs when he turned 23.
He is the youngest to lead an India men’s T20I side and was also a member of the side that played in India’s first-ever T20I. The southpaw is also the first Indian to score a century in the T20 World Cup.
Under his captaincy, India registered a 3-2 series victory in West Indies and a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in ODIs and a 2-0 T20I series win in Zimbabwe.
Raina, who scored a century on debut in Tests, is also the first Indian to have hundreds in all three formats of the game and his centuries were scored outside India.
With his mentor MS Dhoni, he formed a lethal batting partnership. Often coming together in crunch situations, the two helped India cross the finish line.
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Together they scored 2421 runs for the fifth wicket, the most by a pair in ODIs for that wicket.
Both Raina and Dhoni will be seen in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), set to begin from September 19 in the UAE.
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