Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old made the announcement via his official Twitter account and thanked the BCCI, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, IPL side Chennai Super Kings, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla and fans for offering him support.
“It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket. I would like to thank @BCCI @UPCACricket @ChennaiIPL @ShuklaRajiv sir & all my fans for their support and unwavering faith in my abilities,” Raina tweeted.
Raina had earlier on 15 August 2020 announced his retirement from international cricket – the same day his longtime teammate and former Indian captain MS Dhoni decided to hand up his boots.
The left-handed batter has represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is. In international arena, Raina has accumulated 7988 runs across all formats.
He was also one of the key members within the Indian side that won the 2011 World Cup in India and the 2013 Champions Trophy in England respectively.
Rania, who in 2021 became the fourth player in IPL history to play 200 matches, behind Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Dinesh Karthik also has an exceptional record in the cash rich T20 league. In total, he has 205 IPL caps to his name and 5528 runs under his belt at a strike rate of 136.76
He has been the backbone of IPL side Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) success over the years. Raina has won four IPL titles with the Chennai-based outfit under skipper and friend Dhoni.
Raina played his last competitive game in October 2021 when he turned up for CSK against Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi. The experienced campaigner, however, went unsold in the 2022 IPL mega auction.
Since an active India or domestic player can't take part in overseas leagues, Raina needed to take this step for him to explore T20 leagues around the world.
He could also be seen in Cricket South Africa's new T20 league, to be held next year, with all six teams owned by IPL franchises, including CSK.
(With inputs from PTI)
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