Why did Raina leave IPL 2020: Suresh Raina hits Amit Mishra for couple of sixes to announce IPL comeback

Raina leave IPL 2020: One of the most successful Indian Premier League players had missed the last season in the UAE.

During the second match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings vice-captain Suresh Raina scored his 40th IPL half-century to announce a comeback into the biggest T20 league.

Contrary to his expected No. 3 batting number, Raina came in to bat at No. 4 in the third over as Super Kings lost a couple of early wickets after Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bowl.

Having played four dot balls, Raina cut Capitals all-rounder Chris Woakes for a boundary to get off the mark. In the fifth over, Raina hit a couple of boundaries against Delhi spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

While the southpaw was scoring at a decent pace, he was yet to time the ball in a manner one generally expects him to. Playing in the IPL after a couple of years, Raina started to look better with time as he hit a couple of sixes against veteran spinner Amit Mishra to celebrate his comeback.

Super Raina king @ChennaiIPL well played China thala 💪💪

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 10, 2021

In the following over, the 34-year old player targeted Delhi all-rounder Marcus Stoinis as yet another six saw him bringing up his 53rd T20 half-century. It was only a run-out in the 16th over which led to Raina’s dismissal after him scoring 54 (36) with the help of three fours and four sixes.

Why did Suresh Raina leave IPL 2020?

Raina, who had traveled to the UAE for IPL 2020, had returned before the start of the tournament due to “personal reasons”. Despite speculations of various kinds, it was reported that Raina returned back to India due to bio-bubble-related concerns.

Has Suresh Raina retired from international cricket?

Having announced retirement from international cricket last year, IPL 2020 would’ve been the first competitive tournament for Raina. In what wasn’t to be, Raina represented Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year scoring 102 runs at an average and strike rate of 34 and 115.90 respectively.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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