Suresh Raina will not be featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time in the competition’s history. Throughout the two days of the IPL mega auction which was held last week, there were no takers for the veteran batter, also known as ‘Mr. IPL’. Raina had been a part of the Chennai Super Kings since the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2008 (barring the 2016 and 2017 seasons when the CSK was banned).
Raina endured a poor outing in the 2021 edition and missed the closing stages of the tournament due to a knee injury. Talking about the reasons behind him going unsold, former New Zealand cricketer and commentator Simon Doull listed ‘two to three’ aspects which CSK, as well as other franchises, might have taken into consideration.
“There are two to three parts to it. He lost his loyalty in the UAE, we don’t need to go on (and talk about) why it was. There’s enough speculation about that. He lost the loyalty of the team and he lost the loyalty of MS Dhoni. Once you do that, you’re very unlikely to be welcomed back,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.
Doull was referring to the incident that took place ahead of the 2020 edition of the IPL. Raina had traveled with the CSK squad to the United Arab Emirates; however, he returned home amid growing Covid-19 cases in the franchise before the scheduled start of the season.
Doull further said that Raina, who no longer plays international cricket, is not fit and had a very high base price.
“You’re not fit and you’re scared of the short ball. You’re not playing 500 USD for him in any auction,” said Doull.
“He’s been an absolute great of the IPL. One of the leading lights in the first 8-9 years, but unfortunately time comes to an end. You do silly things and you pay the price.”
