Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina announced his retirement from Indian T20 League and domestic cricket on Tuesday. The southpaw wasn’t picked by any franchise during the mega auction of the Indian T20 League earlier this year. Raina now aims to be a part of the different T20 Leagues across the world.
The 2011 World Cup winner took to Twitter to make the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. He wrote, “It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket.” The 35-year-old has been one of the most successful batters in the Indian T20 League. Raina will also not be seen playing for Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming domestic season.
Raina holds the fifth position in the list of highest run scorers in the Indian T20 League. He has scored 5,528 runs in 200 innings at an average of 32.51 and a strike rate of 136.73. The southpaw has one hundred and 39 half centuries to his name. He was a part of all the four title victories of the Chennai franchise. He also captained the previous Gujarat franchise for two seasons in 2016 and 2017.
Suresh Raina will be seen playing in the upcoming Road Safety World Series, starting from September 10. The former Indian cricketer announced his retirement from international cricket on 15th August 2020 just a few minutes after MS Dhoni’s retirement.
Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is in an international career spanning 13 years. He also had the honour of captaining the team briefly. Raina piled up 5615 runs from 226 ODIs and 1605 from 78 T20Is for India. The southpaw scored a century on his Test Debut against Sri Lanka in 2010. He’s also the first Indian to score a century in all three formats in international cricket. He was also a part of the 2013 Champions Trophy winning team.
The fans couldn’t control themselves as one of the legends of the Indian T20 League announced his retirement. Here’s how fans reacted to Raina’s retirement on Twitter:
Honestly, I don't know what to say, I'll just say thank you very much, @ImRaina
??????????????#csk_forever pic.twitter.com/DkgRXHt8Ju— SUBHADEEP GHOSH (@777SUBHADEEP) September 6, 2022
End Of Era ? MR. Champ..!
Thank You For All The Memories #SureshRaina pic.twitter.com/Aaxw0idRmQ— iam_akash02 (@AkashRa88161989) September 6, 2022
Thank you for everything ????
mr.IPL— Siddhesh Toraskar (@sidtoraskar98) September 6, 2022
Never forget my 1st ever favourite cricketer #SureshRaina . Mr IPL. Your retirement is a way to many . I think this decision is to play many T20 leagues across the world. Also we are going to see your batting again???? . All the best for your next chapter. True legend. https://t.co/cPCobCR4oj
— Manikanth (@always_thinker_) September 6, 2022
Thank You #Raina for the Memories. #MrIPL #ChinnaThala #CSK #WhistlePodu @imRaina #ThankyouRaina pic.twitter.com/wwD6pJWctK
— CriiicWorld ?? (@Criiicworld) September 6, 2022
Retirement why too soon?? but csk didn't treat well
— Virushka_18 (@Virushka_1812) September 6, 2022
To Mr. IPL,
Congrats on a fabulous career, & thank you for all the memories! ?#SureshRaina pic.twitter.com/telcWCLmMC— Memboro (@MemboroOfficial) September 6, 2022
Best Wishes SR.
We have fond memories of ur aggressive batting in slog overs.
U R a champ.— Javed A. Khan™ (@JavedA_KhanINC) September 6, 2022
Thank you for all the great memories nd all the best for ur future endeavours ??
— Lotus (@LotusBharat) September 6, 2022
All the best for the second innings….unsung hero of indian middle order for so many years…always a team man..one of the greats of modern day cricket….cheers….
— ANAND RANA (@anandrn422) September 6, 2022
Today My All Interest Towards Cricket is Distroyed ?
— SUSHANT SUMAN ?? (@iamsushantsuman) September 6, 2022
"Jaane Nahi denge tujhe" ??#SureshRaina #ChinnaThala https://t.co/ySCe1hXrTp pic.twitter.com/uZ3iz2wSca
— Shreyansh MSDian ? (@shreyansh0727) September 6, 2022
