BORN 27 Nov 1986, Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
TEAMS CSK
BATS LEFT-HANDED
BOWLS SLOW LEFT-ARM ORTHODOX SPIN
The left-handed Suresh Raina was tipped by former India coach Greg Chappell as the 'next big thing' in Indian cricket. An elegant batsman, a useful off-spinner and an excellent fielder, Raina is among the new generation of Indian cricketers who believe in excelling at least two departments so as to be of value to the team.
An aggressive batsman, yet one who can bat with the grace that comes naturally to left-handers, Raina has scored tons of runs in domestic cricket and has come through the system. Bought by the Chennai Super Kings at $650,000, Raina is an integral part of the Chennai outfit; he is one of three players to have played in every one of the Chennai Super Kings' matches, and is one of their leading run-scorers.
He is a smart customer when bowling his off-breaks, and the pause in his bowling stride only adds to the batsman's misery. In the 31 overs he has bowled in the IPL so far, he has bagged eight wickets and has conceded runs at a miserly rate of 6.26.
