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 tete-a-tete with the cricketer on his Lucknow visit reveals how he manages to still smile through all of it...A lot of your friends and colleagues are getting married. No plans of marriage yet?
Bohot 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 in life 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 and a 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 17-18, and when she was 21, 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 my IPL team, the Chennai Super King, 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 days 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. Yahan, they start talking about how they were spending time with their family, etc.
You've been playing cricket since a very young age. How did success affect you?
My father was in the army, and there wasn't too much money. Yet, we learnt to enjoy the small pleasures of life, to look at the positives. Agar mummy papa kuch nahi dila sakety thay, toh they would tell us ki baad mein lengey. I learnt a lot from my father, when it came to lessons in life. When you're successful, there will be friends, people, VIPs rallying around you. When you're down and out, you're all alone. That's why it's important to be a good person. Because whether you're a successful cricketer or not can always change, but the respect you earn by being the person you are, stays with you.But I'll be honest, I loved the feeling of making money when I started out. It feels good,especially since there wasn't so much of it when I was a kid.
My first earnings, I gave to my dad to invest in an FD. I bought a house for my sister and brother in Ghaziabad. I do things that would secure me financially, but I love to spend money. Mujhe lagta hai ki agar paisa hai toh usey spend karo. If you're successful, it's important to enjoy it! I love shopping for clothes, branded clothes. I love shopping in England, Dubai. I like to travel, whenever I can. I have wardrobes full of new clothes, jinke tags bhi nahi hatey hain. My mother says, itne kapde khareedtey kyun ho jab pehentey nahi... But I like dressing up well.
Even on field, you usually seem to be having a good time...
Yes, I do. Players put in so much hard work into their game, so when they succeed, there must be equal celebration for it. If someone takes a wicket, or fields well, I like to celebrate it. You know, we spend more time with the team than we do with our families. So, it's important to have a good time with those people. And to smile, and make them smile.
The pressure on Sachin to retire, what do you feel about it?
Personally, I feel Sachin has worked so hard for so many years, given so much to Indian cricket, we should just give him respect just now. We need to leave him alone, to give him time to think about his game. Sachin ke honay se dressing room ka mahaul kitna achcha hota hai, I know. You need to value the player, irrespective of his current game. I'm sure his family must be going through a really 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 retirement too must put more pressure on him...
Yes, Ponting's shown great sportsman spirit. But Indian system different hai. Yahan hum player ko bohot importance detey hain. That's how we are.
How do you cope with pressure?
When you're not successful, log aapko poochna chod dete hain. And it makes me just want to play so well, that they all come back.
