IPL can surely wait as life is most important now: Suresh Raina

The IPL can wait till millions of lives, which are at risk due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic is "most important", feels veteran India batsman Suresh Raina.

Raina has already done his bit in this fight against the deadly virus by donating Rs 52 lakh, one of the highest donations among elite sportsperson.

Ask him about the IPL, which has been postponed to April 15 but is unlikely to take place in the near future, Raina says "it is all about life" at the moment.

"Life is most important at this point of time. IPL can surely wait. We all need to follow the government guidelines on lockdown else we all face the consequences. When life gets better, we can think about the IPL. So many people are dying at the moment, we need to save lives," Raina told PTI in an exclusive interview.

While spreading awareness on the importance of staying home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown in the country through social media, the 33-year-old is trying to be the perfect homemaker as his wife recovers from the birth of their second child, son Rio, last week.

In the normal circumstances, Raina, who last played for India in 2018, would be playing in the IPL but instead he is enjoying cooking for his family as well as the domestic help in the house.

Raina was always a "family man" but says the current crisis has shown why "we need to appreciate life much more more than we do".

"I am relaxing in the lockdown, cooking and spending time with the kids. There is so much more to life than cricket, moments like these make you realise that. With this lockdown, people should realise the importance of being down to earth.

"At this time, three meals-a-day matter much more than the size of your house and car, what you wear doesn't matter. What you and your workers in the house are doing is the same. You are eating and feeding them at the same time.

"I am used to cooking since my hostel days, so I enjoy doing that. Wife (who gave birth to a boy last week) and kid are still recovering, so happy to contribute with the household work."
"There was so much happening on the outside. The we had the collapse with Wahab bowling brilliantly but even then we remained calm and helped each other."
"There was just one goal and that was to win the trophy. There was pin drop silence when Sachin paaji got out but we remained calm. You should have seen the way Gautam Gambhir (who made 97) entered the field after Sehwag's dismissal. He was so confident