New Delhi, July 28: Former Indian cricket star Suresh Raina reminisced about his playing days, highlighting how discipline and rigorous training transformed the Indian team’s fielding standards. Raina emphasized that a culture of consistent practice helped India become one of the world’s premier fielding units.
Reflecting on his early training, the influence of senior players, and a memorable on-field clash in Australia, Raina shared that hard work, role models, and learning shaped his fielding career, making him one of India’s most reliable fielders.
In an interview with GeoStar, he stated, “We created a culture of fielding. All players arrived half an hour early because our training always began with fielding. It wasn’t like today, where a few catches are taken and the session ends. Back then, we practiced various high catches, ground fielding, slip catches, and parallel catches. A stump was placed in between. Kaif bhai, who was the captain of Uttar Pradesh, used to say, ‘If you don’t throw directly at the stumps, you won’t make it to the playing eleven.’ These rigorous practice sessions laid a strong foundation for my fielding.”
Raina expressed that receiving praise from legendary fielder Jonty Rhodes has always been special. “He has always been our idol. In Uttar Pradesh, I learned a lot from Mohammad Kaif bhai. I also drew inspiration from Yuvraj Singh in the Indian team. He fielded at point and cover, while I was at mid-off. Whenever we played matches for India, we aimed to ensure that the ball didn’t pass between us.”
The left-handed former batsman recalled a significant incident during his international career involving a fierce clash with Irfan Pathan in Australia.
“I remember the Sydney ODI during our Australia tour. Jadeja was bowling, and David Warner played a sweep shot that got a top edge. I was at mid-wicket, and Irfan bhai was running in from fine leg. I was solely focused on the ball. I had no idea where Irfan bhai was. All I could see were the ball, the floodlights, the crowd, and the waving tricolor. As soon as I completed the catch, I collided with Irfan bhai,” Raina recounted.
He added, “For a moment, I thought if my head collided with his body, either he would get seriously injured or I would. Thankfully, only my shoulder hit him, and I managed to catch the ball. However, Irfan bhai did suffer a fractured rib. We learned an important lesson from that incident: the fielder catching the ball should always call out loudly.”
Raina noted that this incident instilled the importance of better communication among fielders. He stated that the tough training in his early years, the lessons from experienced teammates, and such on-field experiences made him a fielder whose agility, anticipation, and dedication have been admired for a long time.
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