WATCH | The last competitive match Suresh Raina played for CSK in IPL before retirement
After Suresh Raina announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, here's a look at his final IPL appearance for CSK that came in the IPL 2021 season.
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Former Team India cricketer Suresh Raina took to his official Twitter handle on Tuesday and announced his decision to retire from all forms of cricket. While media reports claim Raina made the move to be eligible for playing leagues outside of the country, his tweet marked the end of Raina’s glorious cricketing career in India. Among the many laurels he won for the Indian cricket team, Raina is most remembered for his time playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Suresh Raina's glorious IPL career
Raina played a total of 186 matches for CSK from 2008 to 2021 and scored a tons of runs for the MS Dhoni-led team. However, the 2021 season didn’t work out for him as he finished the season with only 160 runs off 12 games. The match no. 47 of IPL 2021 between CSK and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Abu Dhabi marked the final IPL appearance for Raina with the Chennai-based franchise.
The match kicked off with Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad stitching a 47-run stand for the first wicket before Raina walked in to bat at no. 3. However, he could manage to play only five balls and score three runs before walking back to the pavilion. CSK went on to lose the match by seven wickets after RR chased down 190 runs, as Gaikwad’s unbeaten 101 off 60 went into vain.
Watch CSK star Suresh Raina's final IPL appearance
Suresh Raina's exit from Chennai Super Kings after Indian Premier League 2021
While CSK continued with their campaign, Raina was dropped from the playing XI due to his poor run of form. However, he picked up the IPL 2021 title with the Dhoni-led team and became a four-time IPL champion. Raina previously won the IPL with CSK in 2010, 2011, and 2018.
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The 35-year-old was then released by CSK ahead of the IPL 2022 auctions, where no other teams bid for him. Raina went unsold in the IPL auctions for the first time in his career and was absent from domestic cricket as well. However, having retired from all forms of cricket, Raina is now being linked with reports claiming that he might feature in overseas T20 leagues in the near future.