“We hugged, cried and partied” – Raina reveals post-retirement drama in CSK camp
August 15, 2020, will be a date to remember for more than one reason in the years to come. Not only did it mark the completion of India’s 73rd Independence Day but also the end of a cricketing era. After more than a decade of playing cricket at the highest level, two best friends and teammates – MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina bid adieu to their international careers.
On late Saturday evening, MS Dhoni posted a simple ‘thank you’ video on Instagram to announce his retirement. Although inevitable, it was one of the biggest shocks of India’s cricketing landscape.
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Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired
But just as his fans were recovering from the shocking news, Suresh Raina joined in with what initially looked like a congratulatory message for Mahi.
“It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @mahi7781 . With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind!,” Raina’s comment read on Dhoni’s Instagram post.
It took a while for everyone to understand that Raina had indeed chosen to follow his teammate’s footsteps and retire from the game.
Why August 15?
As soon as news of their retirement broke, a couple of theories started circulating on social media regarding the date of the announcement. One of them was even subtly confirmed by Raina when he responded to a Twitter user. Now, the left-handed batsman has revealed it was indeed true.
“We had made up our minds to retire on August 15. Mahi Bhai’s jersey number is 7 and mine is 3 and put it together and it makes 73. And on Saturday, our country completed 73 years of independence, so there couldn’t have been a better day,” Raina told Dainik Jagran.
Raina also added that he knew Dhoni would announce his retirement on reaching Chennai for CSK’s pre-IPL training camp starting August 15. He had prepared himself to do the same.
“I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready. I, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma reached Ranchi on 14th with the chartered plane, and picked up Mahi bhai and Monu Singh.
So what happened after the big news broke?
“After announcing our retirement, we hugged and cried a lot. I, Piyush, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Karn sat together after that, talked about our careers and our relationship. We partied during the night. Everyone has to go one day. We don’t want anything but only respect” Suresh Raina told Dainik Jagran.
Both Dhoni and Raina will soon be seen donning the yellow jersey in the 2020 IPL starting September 19 in UAE.
