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Suresh Raina Shares The Story Behind His Test Debut In 2010
By SMCS - Jul 18, 2021 7:26 pm
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Former India batsman Suresh Raina made his Test debut way back in 2010 where he made headlines with his 120. And, his knock helped the team to draw the match against Sri Lanka as well. However, in a recent interview, Raina has revealed that he was not supposed to feature in that match. He only got the chance as Yuvraj Singh fell sick, and Raina came in place as well.

Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina

“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,” Suresh Raina told Gaurav Kapur on his ’22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur’ podcast uploaded on Spotify.

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“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. 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,” he further said.

Suresh Raina and Sachin Tendulkar
Suresh Raina and Sachin Tendulkar

“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,’ he said to me. It was such a good environment at that time. Senior players, taking care of me, looking after me like a younger brother. Looking after you if there is a controversy, they would protect you from the media. They would look after you mentally and give you space where you can perform and express yourself,” Suresh Raina concluded.

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However, Suresh Raina will now be seen playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) when the Indian Premier League 2021 will resume during the September-October window.