Raina reveals Dhoni’s reaction after the former bagged an IPL contract for CSK
Suresh Raina has been a fulcrum of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the inaugural edition in 2008. Having scored 5491 runs in 200 matches, he is third on the list of all-time leading run-scorers in the history of the tournament. Back in 2008, Raina was a youngster and was listed at a base price of $125,000 in the auction for the inaugural edition.
His price went up to $650,000 and since then, he has helped the Super Kings scale many heights. In the meantime, the 34-year-old revealed how MS Dhoni, the CSK skipper, reacted after he bagged the IPL contract. In a book, titled ‘Believe’, Raina put forth the revelations. He also told how much he was excited to play alongside Muttiah Muralitharan, Stephen Fleming, and Matthew Hayden.
Suresh Raina opens up
“The IPL auctions happened, and like every other cricketer in the country, I was waiting eagerly to know which team I would be playing for. I was elated to go to the Chennai Super Kings. It meant Mahi Bhai and I would be playing for the same team. I heard from him almost immediately after I was bought in the auction,” excerpts from the book read, reported by India TV.
“He said, ‘Maza aayega dekh.’ There was a lot of attention on him, of course. And looking at some of the other figures whom Chennai had bought—Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Stephen Fleming—I was just delighted to be in the same team as them. The IPL strengthened my bond with Mahi Bhai even further,” the book further read.
In his IPL career, Raina has notched 39 half-centuries and one century. He mostly bats in the middle order and carries forward the good work done by the openers. In the 2020 IPL, he didn’t take part and there were loads of speculations that he won’t be turning out for the Super Kings anymore.
However, in 2021, the southpaw made a comeback and showed his class. When the tournament had to be postponed for an indefinite time period, Raina had managed 123 runs at an average and strike rate of 24.60 and 126.80 respectively.
