On Saturday, Chennai Super Kings’ fans woke up to a shocking news. The team management has announced star player Suresh Raina is heading back to India and will not take part in 2020.
The reason for his departure was not revealed and they simply stated the cause as personal. Once the news hit social media, the fans were very unhappy especially with the way things are unfolding for Chennai Super Kings in past few days.
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
Suresh Raina has recently announced his retirement from international cricket. He was solely focused on the upcoming IPL tournament. The 33-year old also flew to Dubai with his teammates last week after participating in five day pre-season camp in Chennai.
The southpaw is one of the most important players in Chennai Super Kings dugout. He is also their highest run getter in IPL history and was associated with the team since the inception of IPL. In fact, he is only behind Virat Kohli in the all time highest run scorers in IPL history.
Straight Replacement for Suresh Raina is unlikely
The main issue with the finding Suresh Raina’s replacement is the time frame. With IPL starting in less than 3 weeks time, it is highly unlikely to find a quality player immediately.
Raina is the back bone of Chennai Super Kings’ batting lineup for a very long time. He is a match winner with the bat. With him withdrawing, Chennai Super Kings management are looking for a decent player who can share the burden with other middle order batsmen.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Viswanathan has revealed that the franchise has decided to honour Suresh Raina’s decision. He also praised Raina for his best performances to the franchise over the years.
“It is his personal decision to go back and we will never question that. He has always given his best for CSK and we honour that,” Viswanathan told the news outlet.
Finding a replacement for Suresh Raina is their high priority. Viswanathan has revealed Chennai Super Kings are unlikely to go for a replacement right away, as per Times of India report.
Tough days lie ahead for Chennai Super Kings as IPL 2020 is inching ever so close. The team is in complete chaos and will look to bounce back quickly.
