‘I became a real player in Chennai’: Suresh Raina eager to put on CSK jersey once again

All-rounder Suresh Raina knows his worth in the Indian Premier League and credited the Chennai Super Kings for transforming him into a real cricketer. The 31-year-old Uttar Pradesh captain, who struck a belligerent 126 not out against Bengal on Monday in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, has played 161 IPL matches and scored 4,540 runs at an excellent strike-rate of 139.09.

So it wasn’t a surprise when CSK retained Raina along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

CSK man once again

“We have played so many matches together. We had to play for CSK again. In fact, I became a real player in Chennai,” said Raina on the sidelines of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. “The coaches and the players there like Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Muttiah Muralitharan had a fine influence on me. I have learnt a lot from them. It’s not a team but like a family.”

The left-hander said he can’t wait to get back on the field with a CSK jersey for upcoming season of IPL. “The amount of love I have got from fans was great. It was a great team atmosphere. Many players like [Ravichandran] Ashwin, [Pawan] Negi, Jadeja came up from CSK. You have to perform to play and I’m looking forward to play for Chennai again. We all are excited to regroup,” he said.

Fitness issue?

Raina’s fitness was one of the reasons that kept him out of the national side. It’s been more than two years since he featured in the one-day side and last played for India in a T20I against England in January last year.

Having cleared the yo-yo fitness test, which is mandatory to stay in contention for the national side, Raina said he has worked a lot on his skill as well as physical strengthening.

“It is one aspect you do every day and it’s not only about gym alone,” he said. “It’s about spending time on the field. You have to have a street-smart brain. You have to bowl at the nets for two hours every day, you have to be on your toes. And you have to be strong in shoulder to bat well.

“Gym is one thing but you have to do a lot of strengthening as well. At the same time you have to ensure that your body regroups. It’s very much demanding. Still I would say it’s 40% gym and 60% skill.”

Being motivated

Asked about the motivation to play in the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, he said, “I play each and every tournament with the same intent. The tournament has many big names and before the IPL and upcoming Asia Cup it’s a nice opportunity.”

The CSK vice-captain further said the tournament will give him an opportunity to see the talented youngsters ahead of the much-anticipated IPL auction on January 27 and 28. “There are a lot of exciting youngsters like Rinku Singh, there’s also Kuldeep [Yadav] who will play a couple of matches before heading to South Africa. It’s a chance to see many youngsters,” said Raina.

Raina also backed the under-fire Indian team who have lost the Test series in South Africa. He argued that Virat Kohli’s men have done decently and pointed out India’s bowling was a revelation in in the first two Tests in South Africa.

“They have done well, almost won the first Test,” he said. “We fought hard and bowled well. South Africa too have not been able to score runs against us. From four innings they are yet to score a century. Our batting has done well in patches. We have to support the team. We cannot dismiss them, we have some big names who have done well over the years,” he added.

With inputs from PTI