It was the turn of Suresh Raina to take the hot seat opposite Anupam Kher on the episode 6 of the Anupam Kher Show. Raina was merely 20-years-old when he played made his debut in the One Day International (ODI) format in the year 2006. He has since then come a long way in the cricketing scene in India.  

Suresh who hails from a small town in India still has his roots deeply entrenched in all that is close to his heart like his family and friends. Hear him talk about how he started his cricketing journey, the hurdles he faced in life and what keeps his grounded in spite of all the fame and fortune that he has received over the years only on the show. Here is a list of 10 things that we learnt about Suresh after watching him on the show. 

Die hard Indian: Suresh feels like a ‘pakka’ hindustani. For him, playing for the country is a matter of a lot of pride. On the show, when Anupam Kher asked him what is his secret for looking so fresh all the time, he replied apart from home cooked food, and the love from his parents, it’s the fact that he plays for his country . Hmm…It looks like his heart and soul belongs to his mother land. 

Belongs to a Kashmiri family: Raina belongs to a Kashmiri Pandit family from Rainawari in Srinagar. His father worked in the army in the ordinance factory there. It was much later that he along with his family moved to Ghaziabad which is in the outskirts of Delhi. 

First stepping stone: His father who merely earned Rs 10,000 a year, enrolled Suresh into the Guru Govind Singh Sports College in Lucknow in the year 1998 so that he could take up cricketing professionally. During his stay in the school, he was ragged by seniors often who would make him wash their clothes at 2 in the morning. Frustrated from the bullying, he thought of leaving the school and went home saying that he wasn’t unwell. It was only after he revealed to his brother what all was going on the school that his brother convinced him to go back and pursue his passion which he did. If it wasn’t for his brother, he wouldn’t have been where he is today. 

Family oriented: Suresh is very close to his family. It was his brother that gave him the spirit to fight for his dream. He still has the bat that his father presented to him when he started his cricketing career which he bought for merely Rs.2000.  

Passionate cook: His first brush with cooking was when he went to England to play county for two months. It is there that he started to experiment with cooking and used to share his food with his  fellow cricketers who absolutely loved Indian food. 

Married Life: His mother was the one who fixed his marriage. In the beginning of the year, he tied the knot with Priyanka who is his family friend’s daughter. Priyanka’s father was Suresh’s coach and their mothers are best friends. The first time that he met Priyanka was in the year 2008 and they just exchanged their mobile numbers back then. The marriage looks very much destined and seeing Raina gush over his lady love, we certainly know how much he loves his wifey dearest!

Played Under 19: Suresh has played for the under-19 team also. Apart from that he played for Ranjhi trophy when he was just 15 –years-old.

‘Kuch bhi ho sakta momen’t: In the year 2007, Surersh had to  undergo a knee surgery which left him in crutches for months. The pain was so unbearable that he couldn’t even go to the washroom alone. His friend Ali was the one who helped him a lot during that time. It is then he realized that if he can get out of that situation, then there is nothing in the world that he cannot do. Thinking of how much it must have hurt, we are glad that you didn’t give up!

Suresh, the singer: Suresh not only is great batsman but also an incredible singer. For someone who has made India proud because of his great cricketing skills, we surely envy you that this isn’t the only talent that you possess.  Raina you are like India’s ‘gehna’. 

His first tryst with cricket: He was merely 12-years-old when he had his first brush with cricket. He used to go along with his brother on the weekends to play cricket with his friends circle. Because all of them were way older to him, they used to only allow him to do fielding. It’s only after one of the guys didn’t turn up during a match that he was given the chance to do batting. Destiny certainly had big plans for Raina!

For all of those who have missed the last episode, click here to watch.