Suresh Raina named Chennai Super King's vice-captain
What's the story
Suresh Raina may no longer be in the plans of the current Indian cricket fold, but he is still very much a crucial member of the Chennai Super Kings. The franchise from down south made it very clear when they decided to retain IPL's highest run scorer. Now, they have named Suresh Raina the vice-captain of the team. Here's more!
Cog in the wheel
Integral part of the Chennai roster
Suresh Raina, who captained the Gujarat Lions for the past two seasons due to CSK's suspension from the IPL, has been handed the vice-captaincy role, while MS Dhoni will continue to captain the yellow brigade. CSK, who have won the IPL twice before their suspension, opted to retain their Indian core which includes all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja apart from Raina and Dhoni.
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Suresh Raina on being appointed the vice-captain
"Dhoni is going to be captain, I'm going to be vice-captain, Jadeja is also going to be there. Then there are certain players in the auction. We all will have a meeting soon and then decide what planning we will be having for the auction"
Fitness concerns
Why has Raina been exiled from the Indian team?
Suresh Raina, who has played 65 T20Is and 223 ODIs for India, was a key member of the Indian team until 2015. Since then, Raina has failed to break into the team and one of the reasons has been his failure to pass the Yo-Yo fitness test. However, after repeated attempts, he finally cleared the fitness test in December last year.
Information
One of India's best at number 5
Suresh Raina has been India's most successful batsman at number five after Yuvraj Singh. The southpaw from UP has scored 5,568 runs in ODI cricket which includes 5 hundreds and also has 1,307 runs in T20Is.
One of T20's finest
Can Raina make a comeback to the national team?
Raina is undoubtedly one of T20 cricket's most destructive batsman and he is one of the few cricketers with a T20I hundred to their names. The IPL's leading run scorer might be on the decline for now, but it is too soon to rule the 31-year-old of making a comeback to the national team, at least in T20Is. We wish him all the best!