Reacting for the first time ever since senior batsman Suresh Raina decided to pull out of IPL 2020 and flew back to India citing‘personal reasons’, Chennai Super Kings owner and former BCCI president N Srinivasan on Sunday said the left-hander will regret his decision and would want to come back.
“The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money (a salary of 11 crores per season) he is going to lose,” Srinivasan told Outlook.
Srinivasan’s strict comments came after Raina’s sudden decision to give the IPL a miss shook the already rattled CSK – due to two of their cricketers and a few other members testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of the 13th edition of IPL which is slated to take place in the UAE.
The CSK owner said if someone was unhappy then he won’t force anyone to stay back.
“My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything … sometimes success gets into your head,” he further said.
The report added that Raina was miffed with the hotel room he got from the CSK management in Dubai ever since he landed with the squad on August 21. Raina’s room reportedly did not have ‘proper balconies’ which made him feel claustrophobic in the strict bio-secure environment.
The left-hander who announced his retirement from international cricket minutes after MS Dhoni on August 15, wanted a similar room like CSK captain MS Dhoni.
“Cricketers are like prima donnas … like the temperamental actors of the olden days. Chennai Super Kings have always been like a family and all seniors players have learned to co-exist,” said Srinivasan.
While various reports suggesting that Raina may have returned home due to the demise of his paternal uncle, a few others claimed the CSK squad members testing Covid-positive made him insecure about his own health.
The exact reason, however, is still unknown. Raina is CSK’s highest run-getter and has featured in all ten seasons of the IPL that the franchise has been a part of. Raina is also the second highest-run scorer of IPL, only behind India captain Virat Kohli.
The left-hander has been instrumental in CSK’s successful runs in the IPL, making his rift with management even more surprising.
