Mr. Indian Premier League, Chinna Thala, the all-format specialist – Suresh Raina has been referred by various names since he first burst on to the international scene back in 2005 as a teenage prodigy. Sixteen years later, he might have retired from the international stage, but the left-hander still commands as much respect as he did when he was in his prime. The first Indian to score a century in all three game formats, Raina is one of the new-age batsmen who redefined how cricket was played in India.
Right from an early age, Raina was earmarked for greatness. He scored runs by the bucketful in the domestic circuit for Uttar Pradesh and was soon drafted into the senior side. He hit a few roadblocks early on in his career but soon cemented his spot in the Indian middle-order. Raina’s ability to steady the innings in the middle over or play as a dasher in the death makes him an indispensable entity. In addition, Raina is a valuable customer with the ball and is often used to slip in a few overs irrespective of the format. Raina is inarguably one of the best fielders India has seen to top it all of, making him the complete package.
Raina scored his maiden ODI century against Hong Kong in 2008 and then scored India’s first T20 century against South Africa in 2010. A Test call-up was inevitable, and the southpaw proved he had the pedigree for Test cricket as well as he became just the 12th Indian to score a century on debut.
Raina was part of the side that lifted the ODI World Cup in 2011 and played a significant role in India’s quarter-final and semi final victories over Australia and India. The all-rounder has also captained India in 12 ODIs and three T20Is. In all, Raina played 226 ODIs, 78 T20Is, and 18 Tests for India. While he was an exceptional limited-overs player, one of the best India has produced, Raina’s shortcomings against the short balls meant his Test career wasn’t as long. Raina announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August 2020.
The Indian Premier League went a long way in shaping up Raina’s career. He was snapped up by Chennai Super Kings for US $650,000 for the first three seasons of the IPL and has been the team’s backbone since. For the longest time, Raina was the highest run-scorer in the IPL before being taken over by Virat Kohli after IPL 12. He has so far scored 5368 runs in the IPL, averaging 33.34. This includes 28 half-centuries and one century. Raina was also captain of the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017. He will turn out for the Chennai team in the 14th edition of the IPL after pulling out of the tournament in 2020.
Suresh Raina Biography
| Full Name | Suresh Kumar Raina |
| Born | 27 November 1986 |
| Birth Place | Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh |
| Height | 5’9” |
| Role | Allrounder |
| Batting Style | Left Handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-Arm Offspin |
| First Class Debut | 2002/2003 |
| ODI Debut | Vs Sri Lanka, July 2005 |
| T20I Debut | Vs South Africa, Dec 2006 |
| IPL Debut | Vs Punjab, April 2008 |
| Test Debut | Vs Sri Lanka, 2010 |
Batting Stats & Records
| Format | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50s | 100s | 4s | 6s |
| IPL | 200 | 5491 | 100 | 33.08 | 136.86 | 39 | 1 | 502 | 202 |
| Test | 18 | 768 | 120 | 26.48 | 53.15 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 4 |
| ODIs | 226 | 5615 | 116 | 35.31 | 93.51 | 36 | 5 | 476 | 120 |
| T20Is | 78 | 1604 | 101 | 29.16 | 134.79 | 5 | 1 | 145 | 58 |
Bowling Stats & Records
| Format | M | Wkts | BBI | Econ | Avg | SR |
| IPL | 200 | 25 | 2/0 | 7.39 | 44.72 | 36.32 |
| Test | 89 | 13 | 2/1 | 3.48 | 46.38 | 80.08 |
| ODI | 251 | 36 | 3/34 | 5.11 | 50.31 | 59.06 |
| T20I | 91 | 13 | 2/6 | 7.6 | 34.0 | 26.85 |
Recent Matches:
| Team | Opposition | Date | Bat & Bowl |
| Super Kings | Mumbai Indians | 01 May 2021 | 2 |
| Super Kings | SRH | 28 Apr 2021 | 17* |
| Super Kings | RCB | 25 Apr 2021 | 24 |
| Super Kings | KKR | 21 Apr 2021 | – |
| Super Kings | RR | 19 Apr 2021 | 18 |
| Super Kings | Mumbai Indians | 16 Apr 2021 | 8 |
| Super Kings | PBKS | 10 Apr 2021 | 54 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Karnataka | 18 Jan 2021 | 4, 1/15 |
| Uttar Pradesh | Tripura | 16 Jan 2021 | 0/23, 36* |
| Uttar Pradesh | J & K | 14 Jan 2021 | 0 |
Interesting Facts About Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina is one of the finest limited-overs cricketers produced by India. A handy middle-order batsman, useful off-spinner, and gun fielder, Raina ruled the hearts of Indian fans for years. He did the same for his franchise Chennai Super Kings and continues doing so. Also known as Mr. IPL, Raina has played over 190 games in the cash-rich league. Here are a few interesting facts about Raina.
- Suresh Raina was the first batsman to score a century in all three formats of the game for India.
- Suresh Raina was the 12th Indian to score a Test century on debut.
- Raina was the first-ever batsman to score a century in a T20I batting at a position lower than No.3. He did so in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2010.
- Raina was the first cricketer to breach the 5000-run mark in IPL. Since then, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Rohit Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan have crossed the milestone.
- Raina is the first and only cricketer to score 400+ runs in seven consecutive seasons at the IPL. He did so from 2008-2014.
- Raina was also the Indian cricketer to score 6000 and 8000 runs in T20 cricket.
How Raina’s stats will help you in Fantasy Cricket?
Knowing the relevant numbers of any cricketer is essential when you are building your fantasy cricket team. His recent form, statistics, and how well he has done in various venues are key. This becomes even more important for players such as Suresh Raina because he will come with a high credit score. To have him in your fantasy team, you will need to make a lot of space, so the above stats might help you when you are building your fantasy team. You can look at these stats on MPL & get updates from our Blog, to select the best players for your team. Download MPL Fantasy App and stand a chance to win cash prizes every single day.
As the IPL season is approaching, we’ve created a list of tips & tricks for you to understand how it works.
