The left-handed batsman Suresh Raina, who announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, opened up on his diet routine while playing in extreme conditions at the MA Chidambaram arena in Chennai.
Suresh Raina used to have one of the South Indian’s famous food item Rasam and curd rice to beat the heat while playing in Chennai which is basically very hot in the summertime.
Raina Recalls the Match in IPL 2013:
Raina was discussing his unbeaten 100 off 53 balls against Kings XI Punjab in an IPL 2013 match in Chennai. It was a 4 pm game in top Chennai summer, and a significant part of the pre-coordinate talk encompassed the warmth.
“I watched that inning recently. Everyone was talking about the heat, but you know how MS (Dhoni) is. He doesn’t’ talk all that,” Raina said while talking to Harsha Bhogle.
“There was a lot of humidity there, but I said whenever there is a difficult situation I will be the first person to stand up and say let’s do it.
Raina’s Food Treatment to Beat the Heat:
“Heat is definitely there and if you play in the heat it will be there in the head. You need to just have Rasam rice and Curd rice!
“Because the situation is like that. You can’t have proper food like what we eat at home (in north India) because you have to go with the flow. You have to see the humidity and hydrate yourself. That way I really really planned each and everything because I know how to look after my diet, I know how to be more professional because the game demands that.
“I think rasam rice and curd rice gave me that knock,” he laughed.
Raina also spoke about being called ‘Chinna Thala’ by CSK fans, saying the title was a blessing. He even compared Thala (MS Dhoni) and Chinna Thala to Jay and Veeru from the Hindi movie Sholay.
“I think it’s pure love. It’s a pure blessing and something you cherish for the rest of your life,” he said.
“Thala and Chinna Thala is like Jay and Veeru from Sholay. It’s pure love and blessing. You know how it is in the south… a pure blessing. When we go there we do have a lot of responsibility but at the same time they really really enjoy our cricket. That’s why we play the game like that It’s only because of the fans, they treat us really well, they give us a lot of freedom to express ourselves.
“It’s been a good journey, they’ve (CSK management) been very professional. I like the setup, they know how to look after players and our emotions. The yellow is something I cherish always.”
