India · Uttar Pradesh · Chennai Super Kings
An attacking left-handed middle-order batsman, an electric fielder inside the circle and a useful off-spinner — the first Indian to score a century in all three formats of international cricket.
Born in Muradnagar, Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh, on 27 November 1986. Known to team-mates and supporters as Sonu, and later as Chinna Thala in Chennai.
Raina represents the generation of Indian cricketers who grew up on limited-overs cricket. A left-hander who goes for the big shots with impunity and clears the field with a flourish when in form, he was equally valued for what he did without a bat — few Indian fielders of his era saved as many runs in the ring.
He played for Uttar Pradesh in all forms of domestic cricket from 2002/03, made his one-day international debut at 18, and spent most of his international career batting in the middle order for India. His Test career was shorter and more difficult: a technique tested by the short ball was exposed at that level, and he played 18 Tests against 226 one-day internationals.
Eighteen years old on debut, dropped and recalled repeatedly in the first two seasons, then a fixture of India's middle order through the most successful limited-overs period in the country's history.
Raina made his one-day debut against Sri Lanka on 30 July 2005 at Dambulla, aged 18, and was dismissed first ball by Muttiah Muralitharan. He finished that tournament with 37 runs at an average of 12.33 and was left out of the side that toured Zimbabwe.
He returned as a super-sub against Sri Lanka at home, made an unbeaten 39 to see India home in the fourth one-dayer, and forced his way back during the 2006 tour of Pakistan when Virender Sehwag went home injured. A first man-of-the-match award followed at Faridabad with 81 not out in a run chase, and two more half-centuries at an average of 48 earned him a BCCI contract.
He played India's early Twenty20 internationals from 1 December 2006 against South Africa at the Wanderers, a format that suited his method better than any other.
Raina finally made his Test debut on 26 July 2010 against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club, and marked it with a century. He played his last Test on 10 January 2015 against Australia.
He was part of the India squad that won the 2011 World Cup at home, and of the side that won the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.
His final one-day international and Twenty20 international both came against England in July 2018. On 15 August 2020, minutes after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Raina announced his retirement from international cricket.
Final career figures across formats. Source: ESPNcricinfo, as recorded in December 2025.
| Format | Mat | Runs | Avg | HS | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 18 | 768 | 26.48 | 120 | 1 | 7 |
| ODI | 226 | 5,615 | 35.31 | 116* | 5 | 36 |
| T20I | 78 | 1,605 | 29.18 | 101 | 1 | 5 |
| First-class | 109 | 6,871 | 42.15 | 204* | 14 | 45 |
| Format | Balls | Wkts | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 1,041 | 13 | 46.38 |
| ODI | 2,126 | 36 | 50.30 |
| T20I | 349 | 13 | 34.00 |
| First-class | 3,457 | 41 | 41.97 |
| Format | Debut | Last match |
|---|---|---|
| Test | 26 July 2010 v Sri Lanka | 10 January 2015 v Australia |
| ODI | 30 July 2005 v Sri Lanka | 17 July 2018 v England |
| T20I | 1 December 2006 v South Africa | 8 July 2018 v England |
The tournament that gave him his other name. Raina played for Chennai Super Kings from the first season in 2008, and the nickname Mr. IPL stuck for a reason.
The records that outlasted the career.
The first Indian batsman to score a century in Tests, one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals — seven international hundreds in total: one, five and one.
He was the first India batsman to score a hundred at a men's T20 World Cup, in a format most of his contemporaries treated as a cameo.
A member of the India squad that won the World Cup on home soil, contributing unbeaten innings in the knockout stage.
Part of the side that won the Champions Trophy in England, India's second global limited-overs title in three years.
For a decade India's benchmark fielder in the ring, a role that rarely shows up in a scorecard and repeatedly decided close finishes.
His highest first-class score, made for Uttar Pradesh — a reminder of the long-format batsman behind the limited-overs reputation.
The questions that bring most readers to this page.
He announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August 2020, minutes after Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his own. He retired from all forms of the game, including the IPL and domestic cricket, on 6 September 2022.
Because of how much of the tournament's history he was present for: a Chennai Super Kings player from the first season in 2008, one of only four cricketers to reach 200 IPL appearances, and consistently among its leading run-scorers for more than a decade.
204 not out in first-class cricket. In internationals his best scores are 120 in Tests, 116 not out in one-day internationals and 101 in Twenty20 internationals.
Raina scored a century on Test debut in 2010, but his technique against the short ball was targeted by opposition attacks and his returns in the format did not match his limited-overs record. He played 18 Tests, the last in January 2015.
India in internationals; Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket from 2002/03 to 2020/21; Chennai Super Kings in the IPL from 2008 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2021; and Gujarat Lions, whom he captained, in 2016 and 2017.