Suresh Raina, the most consistent player, an IPL legend, went unsold at the recently held Tata IPL Mega Auction 2022 over the weekend. #BoycottChennaiSuperKings was among the top cricket trends on the social media right after the IPL Auction showing the agony and surprise of several IPL fans and Raina supporters. Whether it was the Rs 2 crore base price that stopped the franchises to bid for this maverick player or was it just his 2021 form, the end result is that Suresh Raina will miss the 2022 IPL T20 Tournament.
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So why Chennai Super Kings didn’t bid for Raina? What was the thought process behind the decision that has left many fans heartbroken? Now, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanath has come on record to explain the team’s IPL auction strategy. In an interview uploaded on the Chennai Super Kings official YouTube channel, Vishwanath admitted that the decision of not picking Raina was a very ‘difficult’ one.
However, he added that the form of the player and the composition of the team determines the overall line-up. Lauding Raina, Vishwanath said that the 35-year-old has been most ‘consistent’ player for the CSK franchise.
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He also said that this year’s team is a very ‘balanced’ one with a right mix of old and new talent. On missing out Faf du Plessis is the bidding war at the ITC Gardenia, Vishwanath said that CSK will definitely ‘miss Faf and what he has done for us in past decade.’
‘Raina hai na’
Suresh Raina, who was also the part of the 2011 ICC World Cup winning squad of the Indian Cricket team, has some spectacular IPL records to his credit. Raina has been part of the Chennai Super Kings during two stints – first from 2008 to 2015 and later from 2018 to 2021. In the history of the IPL, Raina is the fourth-highest run scorer. Raina made 5,528 runs from 205 IPL matches. If we look at his Chennai Super Kings performance, Raina has scored staggering 4,687 runs for the franchise.
