Suresh Raina, the former cricketer, will be making his acting debut this year. He will be seen in a Tamil film. Since he has played for Chennai Super Kings, the IPL team, acting in a Kollywood movie makes sense from the popular support perspective.
Raina is not the first cricketer to act in movies. Kapil Dev, over the years, has made several cameo appearances in films like 83, Dillagi Yeh Dillagi, Chain Khuli Ki Main Khuli, and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. While not a fictional role, Sachin Tendulkar featured prominently in the docu-drama Sachin: A Billion Dreams. Sunil Gavaskar has acted in Marathi films like Savil Premachi and had a cameo in Maalamaal. Yuvraj Singh appeared as a child artist in some Punjabi films. More recently, Harbhajan Singh appeared in a Tamil film titled Friendship. Controversial bowler Sreesanth has acted in a couple of movies.
Suresh Raina's acting debut will be a one-off thing. He has no plans to become a full-time or part-time actor.
