Suresh Raina names player responsible for him inking 'Believe' tattoo & it’s NOT MS Dhoni

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina is a tattoo enthusiast. The southpaw often takes to his social media accounts to share pictures of himself whenever he gets a new tattoo. Last year itself, the 2011 World Cup-winning alumni got the tattoo of his wife and son’s names on his arms, as evidenced from his social media feed.

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Suresh Raina cites inspiration behind his ‘Believe’ tattoo

In 2014, Suresh Raina got the word ‘Believe’ inked on his right bicep. While interacting on ESPNCricinfo’s Cricket Monthly, the cricketer revealed that his former teammate Sachin Tendulkar was the reason behind him getting his tattoo. Even though Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013, Raina claims that his bond with the ‘Master Blaster’ remains “strong as ever”. The limited-overs specialist revealed that prior to India’s tour of England in 2014, he had contacted Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai and asked him to help him out on his batting. Raina said that he trained for two weeks with Tendulkar near the cricketer’s Mumbai residence.

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During one of his training days, Sachin Tendulkar told him, “You have to believe in yourself, you have to believe you can do miracles”. According to Raina, he got so motivated by the batting legend at the time that he decided to get a tattoo on his biceps saying ‘Believe’ the very same evening. Here is a look at Suresh Raina’s ‘Believe’ tattoo from 2014.

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Sachin Tendulkar stats in international cricket

The Sachin Tendulkar stats in international cricket composes of some staggering numbers. Across 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and one T20I, the right-handed batsman plundered 34,357 runs to lead charts for most international runs across all formats. Tendulkar has also reached the three-figure mark 100 times in Tests and ODIs combined and is currently 29 ahead of second-placed Ricky Ponting.

Suresh Raina retirement and IPL 2021 updates

After Suresh Raina’s retirement from international cricket (August 2020), the cricketer was slated to play for Chennai in the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. However, he withdrew his name just weeks before the launch of the competition and went back home from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Suresh Raina is currently on course to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy for his state side Uttar Pradesh. The 34-year-old will then be expected to take part in the much-awaited IPL 2021 season. The IPL 2021 season is slated to launch sometime in April.

Suresh Raina retirement announcement post

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Image source: ICC and Suresh Raina Twitter