Suresh Raina Reveals Yuvraj Singh's Words Helped Him In His Maiden Century On Test Debut
Published - 18 Jul 2021, 12:35 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 05:18 PM
Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina revealed the incidents before and after his maiden test century on debut and how Yuvraj Singh’s words helped him to be ready. The 34-year-old started off brilliantly in the longer format with some exclusive cover drives but couldn’t replicate his form and was eventually dropped from the Indian test squad.
Suresh Raina played 18 tests scoring 768 runs at an average of 26.5. His maiden test hundred went on to be his only century and alongside that, he scored 7 half-centuries. Raina announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020, few days after the legendary MS Dhoni announced his retirement.
Suresh Raina Reveals The Night Before His Debut
Suresh Raina was not in the plans of the Indian playing XI and he stated that Yuvraj Singh had called him late at night to be ready for a debut as he was suffering from a stomach bug. He praised Yuvraj for letting him know to be ready the before night which helped him to have some time to prepare. He added that he couldn’t sleep the night after Yuvraj called and was confused if he would make his debut or not.
“Just before my Test debut, he (Yuvraj Singh) called me in the night around 12:30 or 1 clock at night. He said ‘Suresh, I am not able to sleep, I think I may have a stomach bug or something. You should be ready’. Generally, no one says like this, they usually think we will see how things go in the morning. He was so generous and kind to me to tell me that I should be ready,”
“I could not sleep the entire night – thinking I might make my debut the next day, how will I go about it. It has not been discussed in the team meeting. I am not prepared. I don’t even know if I will make debut or not,” Suresh Raina told Sports Presenter.
“After I scored a hundred, Yuvi paa came up to me and he hugged me” – Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina stated that he was lucky that India lost the toss to settle some nerves down and mentioned how Jayawardene and Sangakkara batted the whole day. He added that Yuvraj hugged him after his century and was happy for him.
“Luckily, we lost the toss and were asked to field. We had to field for full two days with Sangakkara and Jayawardene scoring big. Then, after drinking a few coconut waters, I went on to bat”
“After I scored a hundred, Yuvi paa came up to me and he hugged me. ‘This is you, well done, I am so happy for you,” Suresh Raina added.
