Fans around the world were left heartbroken when legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his international retirement on 15th August 2020. The keeper-batter, who made his international debut for the Indian side in 2004, led the team to the number one position, by winning all three major ICC trophies like the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy.
As the fans were still trying to cope with the shocking news of Dhoni’s retirement, they were bombarded with another heartbreaking news as World Cup hero Suresh Raina also announced his retirement from international cricket.
Suresh Raina, who had shared space with Dhoni, not only in the Indian camp but also for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, followed the footsteps of MS Dhoni and announced his retirement just 30 minutes after Dhoni hung his boots.
Raina was only 32 years old when he announced the big news. Raina had been out-of-favor with the Indian team at the time and had made his last appearance for the Indian cricket team in 2018 during an ODI against England. His retirement at a relatively young age of 32 has left the fans stunned. Now after over two years of his retirement, Raina has finally opened up on the decision to call time on his international career. During an interview with Sports Tak, Raina was asked about his decision to retire from international cricket after Dhoni’s decision.
Responding to the same, Raina said: “We played so many matches together. I was fortunate to play with him for India, and with CSK. We got a lot of love. I’ve come from Ghaziabad, and Dhoni is from Ranchi. I played for MS Dhoni, then I played for the country. That’s the connection. We’ve played so many finals, we won the World Cup. He’s a great leader and a great human being.“
While his last performance for India came in 2018, it was in 2021 when he played in his last edition of the Indian Premier League before eventually retiring from the league as well. Raina ad registered himself in the IPL mega auction in 2022, but he went unsold after keeping his base price at INR 2 crore.
