Suresh Raina shuts down rumours of rift with CSK as he responds to Robin Uthappa's video

Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has shut down rumors of rift with his former Indian Premier League(IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings(CSK) by putting out a tweet in reply to the team’s video featuring Robin Uthappa. Raina was one of the biggest talking points about the Indian Premier League(IPL) 2022 mega auction, but not it good terms. Registered at the base price of INR 2 crore, the veteran left-arm batter remained unsold at the end of the two-day event, despite being a four-time IPL winner with CSK. 

Meanwhile, CSK took to their official Twitter handle on Wednesday to share a video of Uthappa practicing how to hit the ball by stepping out of the wicket. Replying to the tweet, Raine said, “Best wishes brother,” and shut down all rumors about having any differences with the team.

CSK’s decision to not bid for Raina became the talking point for cricket enthusiasts as the team bought back veteran players like Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, and Dwayne Bravo in the mega auction. Uthappa was bought by CSK for INR 2 crore, while Bravo fetched an amount of INR 4 crore to re-join the team. Ambati Rayudu fetched the highest bid of INR 6.25 crore from CSK, after a bidding war. 

CSK's tweet and Suresh Raina's reply-

Raina found no bidders for himself as he didn’t feature in any of the Indian domestic tournaments. Lack of game time played against Mr. IPL’s favor and he will not feature in the 15th edition of the tournament. Raina played every IPL season with CSK, except for the 2016 and 2017 season, when he captained Gujarat Lions after CSK were suspended. 

A look at Suresh Raina's IPL stats-

Raina has played a total of 205 IPL matches in his career so far and finds himself among the top run-scorers of the tournament. In the process, he has scored 5528 runs at a strike rate of 136.76. The 2011 ICC ODI World Cup-winning India player has also hit one century and 39 half-centuries in the IPL. 

CSK squad for IPL 2022: Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Shivam Dube, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, K.Bhagath Varma, C.Hari Nishaanth, N. Jagadeesan, K.M. Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh