[WATCH] Suresh Raina gets into practice mode ahead of Road Safety World Series 2022
Former Indian batter Suresh Raina has begun preparations for the Road Safety World Series 2022, which will be held from September 10 to October 1. On Friday, September 9, he shared a video of his preparations for the tournament.
The 35-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on September 6. He had already quit international cricket in August 2020. Not long after his retirement, it was confirmed that the former cricketer would represent India Legends in the upcoming edition of the Road Safety World Series.
Taking to his official Instagram handle, Raina uploaded a clip in which he is seen batting in the nets and having some catching practice as well. He shared the video with a peppy Sidhu Moose Wala track and the caption:
“All set for @rsworldseries. Team #indialegends.”
India Legends, led by Sachin Tendulkar, will begin their campaign in the Road Safety World Series 2022 by taking on South Africa Legends on Saturday, September 10, at Green Park in Kanpur.
“One of the finest left-handers” - Aakash Chopra pays tribute to Suresh Raina
Former India opener Aakash Chopra paid a massive compliment to Raina, describing him as one of the best left-handers Indian cricket has ever seen.
Chopra came up with a special YouTube show to pay tribute to the recently retired cricketer. He said about the southpaw:
“He was one of the best left-handers to have played the game for India. There have been some very good left-handed batters who have played for India. There was Sourav Ganguly, and Vinod Kambli before him. Shikhar Dhawan is absolutely outstanding and now Rishabh Pant is also doing well, but Raina is right up there.
“I strongly feel that he is one of the finest left-handers Indian cricket has ever produced."
Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is from 2005 to 2018. Although he scored a hundred on Test debut, he tasted most of his success in white-ball cricket.
It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket. I would like to thank @BCCI, @UPCACricket, @ChennaiIPL, @ShuklaRajiv sir & all my fans for their support and unwavering faith in my abilities 🇮🇳
He smashed 5615 and 1605 runs in ODIs and T20Is, respectively. Raina also had a stellar IPL career, notching up 5528 runs in 205 matches at an average of 32.52 and a strike rate of 136.76.