When Suresh Raina was reprimanded by Rahul Dravid for choosing the wrong clothes

In his book, Believe: What Life and Cricket have Taught Me, Suresh Raina recounted an incident when he was reprimanded by then-India skipper Rahul Dravid for choosing the wrong clothes.

In his book, Raina revealed an incident from 2006 when India was in Malaysia for a tri-series featuring West Indies and Australia when Rahul Dravid scolded him for wearing a branded t-shirt with ‘FCUK’ written on it.

“Do you know what you are wearing and walking around in? You are an Indian cricketer. You cannot be out in public with that written on your T-shirt.” Raina admitted that he was so scared that he immediately went to the restroom, changed his clothes, and threw that T-shirt in the bin.

Raina said that the former Indian skipper was very particular about how the players carried themselves out in public. Raina asserted that Rahul Dravid looked at playing for India as an honour. He believed that cricketers are representatives of their country, and thus, they should be mindful of what they wear and how they present themselves.

In his book, Raina said that Dravid was an intense captain and prepared himself for games by being in a serious mode.

“At times, I wondered if I should ask him to relax a little and smile. But I knew that this was his way of preparing for a game. He was in that zone where nobody could bother him,” stated Raina.

Suresh Raina has made his international debut under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. In his debut ODI match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on July 30, 2005, the southpaw got out on a duck. He was trapped in front by the legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Sri Lanka won the match by three wickets.