'My knee popped and sounded as loud as cracking of coconut' - Suresh Raina reflects on challenging phase of his career

In part two of his interview on Home of Heroes on JioCinema, Suresh Raina reflects on the tough times he went through after getting injured. The former India batsman talks about how he dealt with the mental stress of never being able to compete again, the physical pain of being on crutches, and how his family and friends became his guiding light in dark times.

How was the first taste of international cricket?

I made my debut against Sri Lanka in 2005 and got out LBW on the first ball facing Murali (Muralitharan). That walk to the dressing room was never ending and I kept wondering, will I get another chance? I put in the hard yards in the domestic circuit to reach where I was. Mahi bhai, Irfan, and Rahul bhai told me to not lose heart for getting out on a duck and told me to give my best while fielding as they all had heard a lot about it. When Sri Lanka came to bat, I ran out Atapattu and after that, I felt I deserve to be part of the Indian team with every senior looking out for me. What was reassuring is to see Sachin Paaji sitting with us in the dressing room, which inspired youngsters like me to represent the Indian flag with more pride.

How would you evaluate your run until you got injured?

It was good, got to bat at No. 3 and No. 4. During that period, the super sub rule was introduced. The first in the world was Venugopal Rao and I was the second one. I remember we won 4-3 against Sri Lanka in that series and in one of the matches I had a good partnership with Dhoni bhai stitching together 84 odd runs and that’s when I felt selectors and coaching staff started believing in me. As a selector, Dilip Vengsarkar played a huge role in my journey and gave not just me but many youngsters like Ambati Rayudu, VRV Singh, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Virat Kohli, Faiz Fazal an opportunity as it was very difficult to break through in that team. But most of us had so many tournaments under our belt that we were ready from the word go. 

How did you get injured?

When I got injured, more than physical it was mental stress that was taking a toll on me. My family asked me to focus on recovery and not worry about the loan I had taken. The other thing that was eating me up was if I will ever get a chance again because the competition was so tough and the 2007 T20 World Cup was coming up. Then I decided to leave my fate in the hands of God and focused on having a good time with friends and family as this was a chance to spend time with them as I never spent more than 10-20 days in a year at home since 1998. So, with the love and blessing of my family, I waded through the choppy waters quite easily. 

After your knee surgery, you didn’t go home. Where did you go then?

I went to Lucknow at my friend Ali’s place because my parents would be in a big shock if I would’ve told them about going under the knife. My parents would’ve gotten emotional as they hardly saw me and always insisted on focusing on academics and not on cricket as much. But I persisted with cricket. But yes, with crutches on it was a tough time and with the love of my friends and the blessings of my well-wishers, it all turned out well. I went back to the hostel and observed bowlers by standing behind the nets and I had no strength left in my right arm. But I was very sure of recovering and coming out strong, so I applied every possible therapy to get back on my feet. My parents continued to pray. 

Did you ever feel that will you never come back from this injury and play again?

Yes, that thought did cross my mind. I was stressed about the financial position that I and the family were in, especially after I took a loan. And if I don’t play again, it would all be over. I realized that what was in my control is to strengthen my knee, and everything else will follow. 

Did anyone reach out to you at that time?

If it was not for my family around me, I wouldn’t have been able to recover so fast. I would read about players getting selected, someone scoring tons of runs in Ranji and then think I have to start from zero. But my elder sister Renu kept me grounded and asked me to focus on the present saying keep working hard and stop worrying. My late father also said the same thing worrying about results won’t get you anywhere but hard work will. Just have the right intentions and God will take care of everything else. Rahul Bhai supported me a lot by coordinating with John Gloster. Yuvi Paa also had a similar injury in 2006 but mine was worse and he was wondering how I was playing without getting operated. I didn’t take it seriously on a few occasions when I should have. It was during that one Ranji fixture when I got off to start the second run my knee popped and the sound it made was as loud as cracking open a coconut.