Suresh Raina Felicitated With Sports Icon Award By Maldives Government

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina was felicitated with the Sports Icon award by the Maldives government recently. He was nominated alongside 16 international sportspersons, including former Real Madrid legend Roberto Carlos, Jamaican Sprinter Asafa Powell, former Sri Lankan captain and cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya and Dutch football legend Edgar Davids.

Suresh Raina was felicitated with the award by Md. Zahir Ahsan Russel, the Minister of Youth and Sports of Bangladesh; Al-Kadi Badr Abdul Rahman, the Vice Minister of Sports of Saudi Arabia; Ahmed Nazeer, the Honorary President of the Maldives Tennis Association.

Thank you for the honour Honourable @ibusolih and Mr @AhmedMahloof. The feeling of representing India ?? on a global platform among all the world champions is unmatchable. Congratulations on organising such an exclusive award ceremony. Way to go ? #MaldivesSportsAwards2022 pic.twitter.com/VPNtIWh03K

— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) March 18, 2022

It was a token of appreciation for the achievements of the southpaw throughout his international career for the Indian cricket team. The Maldives Sports Awards 2022 was held on March 17. The program was followed by a musical event with various singers from India performing in the event as well.

The event was chaired by the President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He honoured Saudi Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal with the “Maldives Sports Award” for 2022 for his efforts in developing the sporting facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Talking about Suresh Raina’s international career, he played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is for India scoring close to 8000 international runs. Apart from this, he was a member of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

Suresh Raina has a terrific record in IPL cricket as well. He is one of the few players with above 5000 IPL runs. He has also played over 200 matches in the league which includes playing four IPL finals for CSK.

Suresh Raina Went Unsold In IPL 2022 Mega Auction

However, in the IPL 2022 mega auction, the 35-year-old did not find a franchise as the teams revamped their squads and two new teams also were added by the BCCI. The season kicks off with CSK taking on KKR on March 26 at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Robin Uthappa Silences Pakistani Journalist Who Tried To Compare PSL And IPL