New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) can wait till millions of lives, which are in line due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are saved, veteran India batsman Suresh Raina said Friday. The cricketer has already done his bit in this fight against the deadly virus by donating Rs 52 lakh, one of the highest donations among elite sportsperson.
While spreading awareness on the importance of staying home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown in the country through social media, the 33-year-old Suresh Raina is trying to be the perfect homemaker as his wife recovers from the birth of their second child, son Rio, last week.
In the normal circumstances, Raina, who last played for India in 2018, would be playing in the IPL but instead he is enjoying cooking for his family as well as the domestic help in the house.
Raina remembers the minutest of details about India’s World Cup triumph nine years ago. Ask him about the IPL, which has been postponed to April 15 but is unlikely to take place in the near future, Raina says ‘it is all about life’ at the moment.
“Life is most important at this point of time. IPL can surely wait. We all need to follow the government guidelines on lockdown else we all face the consequences. When life gets better, we can think about the IPL. So many people are dying at the moment, we need to save lives not think about the IPL,” Raina stated.
Raina has always been a ‘family man’ but said the current crisis has shown why ‘we need to appreciate life much more than we do’.
“I am relaxing in the lockdown, cooking and spending time with the kids. There is so much more to life than cricket, moments like these make you realise that. With this lockdown, people should realise the importance of being down to earth,” Raina said.
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“At this time, three meals a day matter much more than the size of your house and car, what you wear doesn’t matter. What you and your workers in the house are doing is the same. You are eating and feeding them at the same time. I am used to cooking since my hostel days, so I enjoy doing that. Wife (who gave birth to a boy last week) and kid are still recovering, so happy to contribute with the household work,” added the left-handed batsman.
Raina, whose last competitive game was the IPL final last year, was busy preparing for the 2020 edition in Chennai before the nationwide lockdown was announced. The tournament was also supposed to be MS Dhoni’s comeback event.
“It was a nice camp. I was there for two months but then this happened. Got to spend some time with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He was batting so well in the nets, he had the hunger of a youngster trying to prove something. In one session, Dhoni batted for three hours at a stretch,” recalled Raina.
Talk to Raina about the 2011 World Cup, he surprises you with his razor sharp memory. “Every year, we celebrate that triumph. Like the way we celebrate Holi and Diwali,” said Raina.
For someone who also part of India’s 2015 World Cup squad, the southpaw said the team atmosphere in 2011 was something he never experienced again. Three out of the four opportunities he got in the tournament came in the knockouts. His unbeaten knocks of 34 and 36 against Australia and Pakistan in the quarterfinals and semifinals, helped India make the final.
“Whatever decision we were taking, it was all going in our favour. Zaheer (Khan) bhai led the bowling attack. Everyone was talking about our strong batting line up but I would say Zaheer was the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ of the bowling department. He got breakthrough every time we wanted. Then the biggest contribution came from Yuvraj, who took wickets and finished games,” Raina fondly recollected.
Suresh Raina termed India’s semifinal game against Pakistan as one of ‘extreme pressure’… more than the final at the Wankhede Stadium.
Wahab Riaz’s sensational spell of reverse swing had reduced India to 187 for five but Raina batted with the tail to take the team to 260, which proved to be enough.
“There was so much happening on the outside. We had collapsed with Wahab bowling brilliantly but even then we remained calm and helped each other. We were confident we would win,” said Raina.
Agencies