Suresh Raina is the nicest cricketer I have ever met: Daren Sammy

India’s left-handed batsman Suresh Raina, along with former Indian captain MS Dhoni, had announced their retirement from all the three formats of international cricket on August 15, 2020. As the news had gone viral on social media, a plethora of cricketers from all over the world had congratulated the duo for a spectacular career and had acknowledged their contribution to the gentleman’s game.

The new addition to this list is former West Indies captain Daren Sammy who showered praises on the 33-year-old Raina while addressing him as the ‘nicest international cricketer’. Sammy also hailed the Uttar Pradesh stalwart as a very stylish batsman and the best fielder in the world.

“Suresh Raina is the nicest cricketer I have ever met. He is the nicest international cricketer, full of grace, a very humble player and a very stylish batsman. Jonty Rhodes also rated him as the best fielder in the world. It’s important that we acknowledge his contribution to the game,” the West Indian all-rounder told Times of India.

My greatest memory has been the people of India: Daren Sammy

Further in the interaction, the St Lucian cricketer walked down the memory lane as he shared his greatest memories on the game of cricket. Daren reminisced the moment where he smashed runs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to help his team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) reach the playoffs in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League. He also recalled his unbeaten 51-run partnership with Kemar Roach against India during the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Emphasising on his sweetest memories, the two-time ICC T20 World Cup winning captain stated that his fondest memory has been the people of India as he loves the way they embrace the game and bestow so much of affection to the players.

“My greatest memory has been the people of India. The way they embrace cricket and cricketers and their passion and love for the game, which gives you that energy and makes you enjoy playing cricket in India whether you win or lose,” the 36-year-old added.

In his international career of 14 years, Sammy has represented West Indies in 38 Tests, 126 ODIs and 68 T20 Internationals collecting 1,323, 1871 and 587 runs respectively. The pacer has also 84, 81 and 44 scalps to his name in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.