Retirement not an issue for Suresh Raina as he takes on new challenges in the gym

Suresh Raina might have bid adieu to international cricket earlier this year, but when it comes to fitness, the southpaw is making sure that there is no compromise on the same as he was seen indulging in an intense workout session where he showed that he indeed had a lot of endurance after a 120-pound bench-press.

'New challenges': Suresh Raina

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Raina had posted a video of his gym session where he was seen sweating it out effortlessly. In the video, he can be seen engaging himself with upper-body exercises, and at the same time, he also following the instructions given to him by the other person who appears to be his personal trainer. However, what has really stood out here is that the veteran middle-order batsman showed a lot of dedication during the bench-press session where he excelled in lifting 120 pounds.

The video ends with the UP-based cricketer smiling without showing any signs of tiredness as if he is prepared to sweat it out once again. 

Raina had captioned the video as 'Started off the week with new challenges, lifted 120 kg bench press today!'

Suresh Raina: When Team India's decorated No.4 batsman went into oblivion

Raina had last played for India in the away limited-overs series against England in 2018. The UP cricketer was an integral part of Team India's 2011 World Cup as well as ICC Champions Trophy 2013 triumphs and was a regular member of the national side. However, his weakness against the short-ball, a slump in form, and injuries meant that he did not find a place in the squad.

The southpaw has scored over 5,600 ODI runs and 1,605 T20 runs for the Men in Blue. The left-handed batsman was regarded as Team India's permanent number 4, a position following his snub created a void. The 33-year-old mostly played under MS Dhoni and also accompanied his skipper in IPL as he played for the CSK. Raina is also the first batsman to have 5000 runs in the IPL. 

He had called it a day on his international cricketing career on August 15, 2020, i.e. on the evening of India's 74th Independence Day just moments after his good friend and legendary Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had announced his retirement from the highest level.

READ: Rahul Dravid Lauds Suresh Raina For His Outstanding Contribution To Indian Cricket

The road ahead for Suresh Raina

The ex-middle-order batsman was all set to represent the three-time winners Chennai in the recently-concluded Dream11 IPL 2020 but backed out due to personal reasons and returned to India almost a couple of weeks before the tournament commenced.

It remains to be seen whether Chennai will retain their very own 'Chinna Thala' during the IPL 2021 mega auctions and in case he is released by the former champions, it will be interesting to see who will bid aggressively for the elegant cricketer. 

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