Getting Suresh Raina to say more than what’s correct isn’t easy. But we finally managed to get the cricketer to open up

A year-and-a-half max and I will be hitched

Getting Suresh Raina to say more than what’s correct isn’t easy. But we finally managed to get the cricketer to open up

    One of Indian cricket’s most eligible bachelors, Suresh Raina is feeling the pressure — to get married, to perform, to deal with success and failure, all without compromising on who he is. A tête-à-tête with the cricketer reveals how he manages to still smile through it all.... 

 
A lot of your friends and colleagues are getting married. No plans of marriage yet? Bahut pressure hai ghar se ab. My mother keeps asking, ‘Shaadi kab karni hai? Girlfriend hai toh bata do, nahi toh mein ladki dhoondoo’. My sister, my niece, everyone wants me to get married now, they want to see me settle down and be happy. I know it’s not something I can run away from. It’s one of the most important things in life, and a lot changes after marriage. I think another year-anda-half max, and I’ll be hitched, too. 

Seriously, there’s no girlfriend? No, seriously, koi nahi hai. It’s not like I’ve not been in a relationship, I have. I had a girlfriend when I was 18, she was 21 and she wanted us to get married. I couldn’t do that, because my game was my priority. We had to part ways, and there was no guilt because I had never committed to marriage.  

 

So, you’re okay with an arranged marriage? I’m not sure, I’m hoping that in the next year or so I’ll find someone I can fall in love with. I’d like to spend time with a girl, get to know her, to know if she’ll look after my family. 

But there must be others who want to get close to you because you’re a cricketer... Yes, there are always people who want to get closer to you because you’re famous, and it’s not like I don’t do stuff too. But I know where to draw the line. We’re in a game that requires a great deal of discipline. The body says one thing, but the mind knows what it must do. You have to tell yourself to get back to the game. 

As a sportsman, all the travelling must take a toll on one’s family life? Thankfully, the BCCI now allows you to travel with your spouse during matches to places like England and West Indies. And the Chennai IPL team I play for always ask me to bring my family along for the matches. So, when I get married, I will be able to take my wife along and keep her happy. It would be nice to come back after a match to a partner with whom you can share the day’s losses and wins.
    But the problem is that in India, there’s too much focus on cricketers’ personal lives. If you see, the soccer stars in Europe always travel with their girlfriends, and their media doesn’t criticise them for it. If a sportsman doesn’t perform well, they focus on his weaknesses and strengths. Yahaan, they start talking about how they were spending time with their family, etc. 

There’s pressure on Sachin to retire. What do you feel about it? Sachin has worked so hard for so many years, given so much to Indian cricket, we should just give him respect now. We need to leave him alone, to give him time to think about his game. You need to value the player,
irrespective
of his current game. I’m sure his family must be going through a bad phase. And
it’s not easy to have your
    peers, people who’ve
    just played
    one match with you, saying that it’s time for you to retire. But Sachin is the kind of person who won’t be affected by what others say. It’s not easy, it’s very tough to cope with such pressure. But his passion for the game is such that he will play till he thinks he’s done. He could also leave the game tomorrow, if he thinks that’s when he needs to retire, par kisi ke kehney se nahi karega. 

Ponting’s exit, too, must’ve put more pressure on him... Yes, Ponting’s shown great sportsmanship. But Indian system different hai. Yahan hum player ko bahut importance detey hain. That’s how we are.

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina