Suresh Raina's 1st IPL salary only $25k lesser than Shahid Afridi's only IPL paycheck ever

The inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2008) was a global phenomenon as it opened to a roaring success, generating massive worldwide viewership. The showpiece event saw the presence of some of the most globally recognised and crowd-pulling T20 stars like Shahid Afridi, Adam Gilchrist, MS Dhoni, Sanath Jayasuriya among a plethora of others. The IPL 2008 also saw the rise of several talented youngsters who went on to become some of the biggest names for their respective countries. The then 21-year-old Suresh Raina was one such name who was roped in by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise at the IPL 2008 auction.

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Suresh Raina IPL salary vs Shahid Afridi's payday in 2008

In 2008, Shahid Afridi was a big name in international cricket. Moreover, the former Pakistani captain was adjudged as ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. On the other hand, Suresh Raina was a relatively unknown player in the Indian set-up, even though he made his international debut in 2005. The middle-order batsman was an irregular member in the national team and he was also omitted from the 15-player Indian squad that toured South Africa for the inaugural T20 World Cup.  

Despite the huge popularity difference between Suresh Raina and Shahid Afridi back then, the Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer generated some big bucks at the IPL 2008 auction. In fact, the Raina IPL salary in 2008 was just US$25,000 (valued ₹10 lakh in 2008) lesser than the limited-overs giant Shahid Afridi. Suresh Raina was purchased by CSK for US$650,000 (₹2.6 crore) while Afridi joined the now-defunct Deccan Chargers for US$675,000 (₹2.7 crore).

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Performance-wise, Suresh Raina managed to eclipse the veteran Pakistani by a long margin. While the left-hander scored 421 runs in 2008 and was instrumental in enabling CSK to reach the final, Afridi managed only 81 runs in 10 innings at an average of 10.12. However, the all-rounder made up with the ball by scalping 9 wickets with his leg-spinners. Interestingly, Afridi never played the IPL after that edition since Pakistani players were banned from the tournament post the 2009 season.

Suresh Raina IPL salary: IPL 2020

Suresh Raina is now set to reprise his role for CSK in the much-awaited IPL 2020 season. During the IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, he became one the 20 cricketers to be retained by the franchise. Suresh Raina’s IPL 2020 salary for representing CSK is US$1.5 million (₹11 crore), i.e. more than four times his first IPL paycheque.

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Image credit: IPLT20.COM and AP