Raina retirement IPL: Is Suresh Raina retired from IPL?

Is Suresh Raina retired from IPL: The former Indian cricketer has announced his retirement from all formats of the game.

Former India batter Suresh Raina has announced his retirement from all formats a couple of years after announcing his international retirement.

Raina, 35, took to social media platform Twitter to make the announcement thanking BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), UPCA (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association), Chennai Super Kings and BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla in his post.

Since his retirement from international cricket, Raina played a season each of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Indian Premier League last year. In this period, Raina scored 262 runs in 16 innings at an average and strike rate of 21.83 and 121.30 respectively with the help of a couple of half-centuries.

These substandard numbers were a primary reason why Raina had remained unsold during IPL 2022 auction. Raina subsequently joined a star-studded 85-member IPL 2022 commentary panel for host broadcaster Star Sports.

Is Suresh Raina retired from IPL?

Having resumed practice in Ghaziabad lately, Raina uploading his batting videos across social media platforms had sparked rumours of a comeback. In fact, rumours were also rife that Raina would replace injured pacer Deepak Chahar at CSK earlier this year.

In a recent interview with Dainik Jagran, Raina cleared the air around all the speculations. Raina, who has no plans of returning to the IPL, has offers from overseas T20 leagues in South Africa, UAE and Sri Lanka but is “yet to take a decision”.

“I want to continue playing cricket for two or three years. There are some exciting youngsters who are coming through the ranks of Uttar Pradesh cricket. I have already taken my No Objection Certificate from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association . I have informed BCCI secretary Jay Shah and vice-president Rajiv Shukla about my decision,” Raina told Dainik Jagran.

Albeit ironically, the development around Raina’s retirement from all formats must have come as a delight for his loyal fans for they might get to see him return to the cricket field outside of India. Not just his fans, his former teammate in Irfan Pathan is also waiting to see him nail his archetype “cover drives” in the near future.

Raina, who has plans of featuring in the Road Safety World Series beginning on Saturday, was among the rare Indian cricketers who had called for permitting non-contracted players to play in overseas T20 leagues during the COVID-19 pandemic.