Suresh Raina reveals why he announced retirement along with Dhoni
One of India's greatest captains MS Dhoni announced retirement from international cricket on Saturday. And moments later, middle-order batsman Suresh Raina too called time on his international career. Explaining the sequence of Saturday's events to Dainik Jagaran, Raina said Dhoni's retirement was not a surprise as he knew the former captain would announce his retirement that day. Here is more on the same.
Raina talked about the moments leading up to the announcement
Raina reiterated he had made up his mind to announce retirement as soon as his compatriot Dhoni does. "I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready," Raina said. "I, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar, and Karn Sharma reached Ranchi on 14 August with the chartered plane, and picked up Mahi bhai and Monu Singh."
We hugged and cried a lot: Raina
"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," added Raina.
Why did the duo retire on August 15?
While many wondered why the duo took a call on August 15, Raina's explanation gave clarity. "We had already made up our minds to retire on August 15," he stated. "Dhoni's jersey number is 7 and mine is 3. Put it together and it makes 73. And on August 15, India completed 73 years of independence, so there couldn't have been a better day."
The marquee CSK players have assembled in Chennai
A number of marquee players from CSK contingent have assembled in Chennai for a short preparatory camp ahead of 2020 IPL. Previously, the CSK team management received the required permission from the Tamil Nadu state government to host a training camp before leaving for UAE. Meanwhile, the CSK contingent will likely fly to UAE on August 22.
Raina describes the bond between the two
Raina illustrated how the two played together throughout their journey. "Dhoni began his career on in December (2004) against Bangladesh in Chittagong, while I made my debut in July (2005) against Sri Lanka. Both of us almost began together in international cricket, remained together at CSK, and so we now retired together and will continue to play in IPL together," he concluded.
The Dhoni-Raina partnership in ODIs
The dynamic duo of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina shares a lot in common. Right from winning the 2011 World Cup to retiring on the same day, the duo has seen it all. However, their emphatic stands in One-Day Internationals during 2000s stood out amongst all. Batting together, Raina and Dhoni shared 3,585 runs from 73 ODI innings at an incredible average of 56.90.
