IPL 2020: Suresh Raina will certainly realise what he is missing, says CSK boss N Srinivasan on cricketer exiting T20 league

Chennai Super Kings owner N Srinivasan has said that Suresh Raina’s exit will not impact the team’s campaign in IPL 2020, adding that the left-handed batsman will ‘certainly realise what he is missing’. “The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money he is going to lose,” said CSK’s boss in an interview to Outlook. “My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything … sometimes success gets into your head,” Srinivasan added. Raina had returned to India on 29 August from UAE, citing personal reasons. CSK, on twitter, had also announced that he will miss the whole tournament and that the franchise was with Raina ‘during this time’. However, the reasons have not been revealed either by franchise or the cricketer himself so far.

Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time.

KS Viswanathan
CEO

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 29, 2020

It was speculated earlier that Raina may have left for India after learning about the  murder of his uncle in Pathankot in Punjab. Now, after Srinivasan’s statements, a different story seems to be coming out. Raina was retained in 2018 by CSK for Rs 11 crore and has been with the team as vice-captain since the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008, barring two years (2016 and 2017) due to suspension of the franchise following the spot-fixing scandal. Not to forget, CSK are already feeling the heat in UAE with 13 members in their contingent testing positive for COVID-19 , including two players. With Raina heading back, the team has to revamp their plans quickly before the tournament kicks off. Srinivasan, however, believes there are able replacements in the team for Raina, one of them being Ruturaj Gaikwad. He said, “He is an outstanding batsman and will get a chance now. Ruturaj can become the star of the show, who knows?” The former BCCI president also said that players testing positive is not a huge concern for the team as captain MS Dhoni is in control of the situation.