When Yuvraj Singh Put A Young Suresh Raina In A Spot By Asking Him About His Favorite Cricketer
Updated - 16 Jul 2021, 04:03 PM
Former Indian middle-order batter and the 2011 World Cup-winner, Suresh Raina, has revealed a hilarious incident from his maiden international assignment with the national team when veteran all-rounder Yuvraj Singh pulled his leg about his favorite cricketer.
Raina, who called time on his international career alongside MS Dhoni on Independence Day last year, made his debut for Team India during a tri-series in Sri Lanka in July 2005.
The former Indian cricketer recently appeared on the 22 Yarns podcast hosted by Gaurav Kapoor where he opened up on how Yuvraj Singh put him in a spot by asking about his favorite cricketer.
‘’Yuvi paa (Yuvraj Singh) had asked who is your favorite cricketer – Rahul (Dravid) or Sachin (Tendulkar)? I said Rahul.” revealed Suresh Raina.
With Suresh Raina naming Rahul Dravid as his favorite cricketer, Yuvraj was quick to probe- ‘’Oh, not Sachin?”
When asked about Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s reaction when Raina named Dravid as his favorite cricketer, the 2011 World Cup winner said that the legendary batter was pretty chilled out.
‘’Sachin just smiled. I remember (MS) Dhoni bhai was there, Irfan was also there. They were all laughing. So I felt like this is my home for the next couple of months or series. It was an honor for me to represent the country with some legends on the game.” revealed Raina.
Suresh Raina came in the Indian team at a time when it was loaded with legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh.
And, as expected, Raina revealed that he was pretty nervous during his maiden tour.
“During my first tour, paaji (Sachin) was sitting on my left, Viru bhai (Virender Sehwag) was on my right and Yuvi paa, Anil bhai (Kumble), Dada (Sourav Ganguly) were all in front of me. I was really scared thinking what they would ask me. I didn’t even know English properly in those days.” he said.
When asked about Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s reaction when Raina named Dravid as his favorite cricketer, the 2011 World Cup winner said that the legendary batter was pretty chilled out.
‘’Sachin just smiled. I remember (MS) Dhoni bhai was there, Irfan was also there. They were all laughing. So I felt like this is my home for the next couple of months or series. It was an honor for me to represent the country with some legends on the game.” revealed Raina.
Suresh Raina recalls Yuvraj Singh’s phonecall post his hundred on Test debut
Suresh Raina may have made his ODI debut in 2005 but he had to wait for five more years before he was finally handed his maiden Test cap- also against Sri Lanka.
Raina made the most of his opportunity as he went on to smash a brilliant hundred in his debut innings to become the first Indian at the time to score a ton in all three formats of the game.
Interestingly, Raina revealed that Yuvraj Singh played a key role in his Test debut.
Calling Yuvraj Singh a gem of a person, Raina said-
“I scored a hundred on my Test debut. He (Yuvraj) called me in the night before the match – 12:30 or 1 o’clock – saying, ‘Suresh, I am not able to sleep, I have a stomach bug or something, you should be ready.’ Generally, players don’t say such things. He was so generous and kind to me when he said that I should be ready. I was not prepared as I wasn’t sure whether or not I would be selected.”
”After I made my hundred, Yuvi paa came up to be, hugged me and said, ‘This is you, I am so happy for you and well done.’ I was treated like a young brother. It was like a family and youngsters were well looked after. If there was a controversy, the seniors protected you from the media,” added Raina.
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Suresh Raina Yuvraj Singh
