The Reign of Suresh Raina is back- ‘Raina Haina’ again?

Suresh Raina- Does this name ring some bells?

The southpaw Suresh Raina who has remained out of the India squad for quite some time now is eyeing to make a comeback in the upcoming T20I series against South Africa which is scheduled to kickstart from tomorrow in Johannesburg.

India cricketer has said that he was hurt after being dropped from the Indian team despite being in form, but he would be starting afresh and is determined to make most of the upcoming T20 series in South Africa.

“I am not going to leave it here. I wanty to perform for India for as long as possible. I have to play the 2019 World Cup because I believe in myself and I have performed well in England. There is still a lot of cricket left in me and I am extremely hopeful of doing well in these three games against South Africa,” Raina said.

Cleared my Yo-Yo & fitness test today, after days of hard work at #NCA!

Received tremendous support from all the trainers, coaches & officials.
Thank you all! ?

It’s always so encouraging to train here at #NCA, motivates me to push my limits and bring the best out of me. ? pic.twitter.com/E0Rr00NR4m

— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) December 21, 2017

One thing I have learnt from you is to never Give up ?? waiting for your comeback!

— Drishti (@drishti_raina3) December 21, 2017

Warrior to be back with a winning spirit:

Team India is brimming with confidence after sealing the ODI series against the Proteas by 5-1. The cricket fans across the world are in awe of Virat Kohli as the run machine churned the bowling attack of South Africa in the series.

The dynamite duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep have done wonders and notable batsmen Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have played remarkable knocks on the South African soil as well. Now, Suresh Raina would fight to earn his position on the South African turf.

Latest pic of #SureshRaina @ImRaina with @klrahul11 and @JUnadkat at @ Dubai International Airport On the way to #Johannesburg ✈️ #SAvIND #T20 pic.twitter.com/C6IQ08c2Wy

— Suresh Raina FC (@_ImRaina_FC) February 15, 2018

Suresh Raina has always been agile on the field & hard-hitting with the bat. Hit them out of the park, including the bouncers 🙂 @ImRaina

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 12, 2015

Wowww Finally Our champ is with team mates?
Remains me His Appreciation
Whenever there is a team mates Celebration Automatically Cameraman show his face. BCZ He is the one who Over joy of others victory ?
Good to see him Back
Waiting fr his action ? #SureshRaina #Selfless ? pic.twitter.com/J0W9lucb3P

— Vimal Raina (@ImVimalRaina) February 16, 2018

31-year old, Suresh Raina has played 223 ODIs and 65 T20s but he says that he feels like a debutant again.

“I am 31 but, as they say, age is just a number. The other day when my match clothing arrived, I had the same feeling like I got before making my India debut. It is so special,” he said.

The left-hander played an impressive inning the T20 Series against England in February last year but he failed to qualify the Yo-Yo test thus remained out of the Indian Team.

What’s the Yo-Yo fuss?

Yo-Yo test garnered a lot of attention when cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failed the Yo-Yo endurance test in 2016. Raina has finally cleared the test. Here’s what the test is all about :

• A test developed by Danish soccer physiologist Jens Bangsbo which aimed to evaluate an individual’s aerobic endurance fitness.
• BCCI makes its players to undergo through series of endurance tests and Yo-Yo is one of them.
• The test comprises two levels. The level two fitness test involves cones placed to mark out two lines, 20 metres apart. The player needs to run between the lines and turn when the beep goes off
• BCCI has kept 19.5 as the par score for players to pass the test.

https://twitter.com/womencricketIN/status/964103384612532225

That Goosebumps and Gethu Moment for @ImRaina & His Fans When the Whole World & All other cricket fans Supporting him for India's Middle Order Position ?
This is the best time to prove himself again ??
Come on thalapathy we are waiting for you ??? #SureshRaina #IndVsSA

— Vimal Raina (@ImVimalRaina) February 15, 2018

And the man is back. Congratulations to our very own @ImRaina on a great century. Keep it going. @BCCI pic.twitter.com/ZjPGsfCAP0

— 100MB (@100MasterBlastr) January 22, 2018

The Yo-Yo test is definitely not even a bit as funky as it sounds, but as he has passed the ghastly test we hope to see Raina back in action again.