After pulling out of IPL, Suresh Raina hints at return
Indian middle-order batsman Suresh Raina has hinted at his comeback in the Indian Premier League, days after pulling out of the tournament. Speaking to Cricbuzz, the Chennai Super Kings star dismissed reports of rift between him and franchise owner N Srinivasan. Raina, who returned back to India last week, recently also opened up on the killing of his Punjab relative.
Raina talks about his decision to miss this year's IPL. "It was a personal decision and I had to come back for my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately on the home front," said Raina. "CSK is my family too and Dhoni is very important to me. This was a tough decision. There is no issue between CSK and me."
Despite returning back to India, Raina has indicated that he could take part in the impending IPL edition. Notably, the left-handed batsman earlier mentioned that he would like to play for the Chennai-based franchise for the next few years. "I've been training even while quarantining here. You never know you might see me in the camp there again," he added.
Raina cleared the air regarding the dispute between him and Srinivasan, stating the latter is a like a father to him. "He is like a father figure to me and he's always stood by me and is close to my heart. He treats me like his younger son and am sure a lot of what he said was taken out of context," stated Raina.
The news of Raina missing the impending IPL edition has given rise already to a number of speculations. However, on Tuesday, Raina put them to rest by sharing the details of the crime that claimed the lives of his uncle and cousin in Punjab. As per several reports, the incident took place in Thariyal village in Punjab's Pathankot district on August 20.
"The Pathankot incident was horrible and has really been very disturbing for everyone in our family. And it was my responsibility to come back and take care of them. But since I've returned, I've been in quarantine here," Raina added.
Nevertheless, the CSK would want his most experienced batsman to make a comeback. After all, he is the tournament's second-highest run-scorer, having scored 5,368 runs at 33.34. Raina, who is already IPL's most-capped player (193), has represented CSK in 134 consecutive matches (2008-2018. However, the onus will be on Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, and Faf du Plessis in his absence.
