Out of favour Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has had a tough few months. Not only is he out of the national team but an unnamed coach of his home state Uttar Pradesh recently alleged that the southpaw has lost his passion for cricket after becoming a family man. Now, in an emotional interview to Indian Express, the Gujarat Lions captain has given his side of the story. And the story indeed shows that people should always know the other side before jumping to conclusions.
Raina said that he and his kid Gracia have been suffering from indifferent health and that is the reason behind cricket taking a backseat, albeit temporarily. He suffered flu and chicken pox during this period, when he was off from cricket.
Earlier an UP coach was quoted as saying, "His priorities have changed after he became a family man. I have noticed that he has not been concentrating on his game. He has become a reluctant cricketer. He just played three Ranji matches for UP this season and didn't turn out for Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments".
An emotional Raina replied to the jibe saying, "Logon ka kaam chahiye bolne ka - aisa hai, waisa hai "I have to take my daughter to hospital, I have to do the work at home and I can't see how people can criticise me for that? Bahar ka banda nahi aayega na yeh sab karne?"
Rains's daughter Gracia was born in May, last year. He claims that he had informed BCCI and state selectors before pulling out of hectic cricket schedule. Raina even gave examples of Harbhajan Singh and Shahid Kapoor about how they rejigged their priorities after becoming father.
When asked about his 'degrading fitness', Raina said that he is rearing to go and has started his drills. The Gujarat Lions captain is confident of making a strong statement with his bat. IPL is Raina's fiefdom, and what better place to show that the left hander is still a potent force to reckon with. However the cricketer is dismayed by the fact that he missed out on BCCI's central contract, as according to rules known to him, if a player has appeared for India in the last six months, he is automatically eligible for the contract.
Raina in his interview says that he is not bitter and raring to go. We too hope that Raina can hit bowers and haters out of park in the upcoming IPL.
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