Suresh Raina “Lost Loyalty Of MS Dhoni”: Simon Doull On Former CSK Star Going Unsold In IPL Auction 2022

Suresh Raina will not take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time since the inception of the tournament back in 2008.

Raina, who was released by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the IPL auction, went unsold in the two-day event in Bengaluru last week. Raina was a part of CSK since the tournament’s inaugural edition, barring two seasons (2016 and 2017) when the franchise was banned from taking part in the cash-rich league. He had led the now defunct Gujarat Lions for two seasons.

After skipping the 2020 edition due to personal reasons, Suresh Raina endured a difficult outing in IPL 2021, and missed the latter stages of the tournament due to a knee injury.

Speaking on Raina getting unsold in the auction, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull listed “two to three” reasons that prompted CSK, as well as the other franchises, to ignore the veteran batter at the auction.

“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 during an interaction on Cricbuzz.

Raina, who announced his international retirement on the same day as Dhoni, is the fourth all-time run-getter in the IPL, amassing 5,528 runs in 205 matches.

Raina also won four IPL titles, all with CSK, including last season.

CSK, on the other hand, have built a strong team again by managing to hold on to some of their proven performers like Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu.

The four-time winners will be led by MS Dhoni, who was retained along with Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja before the auction.