RP Singh, the former Indian left-arm quick feels that Suresh Raina who decided to retire from international cricket along with his CSK captain MS Dhoni maybe because of the fact that the left-handed batsman believed that his chances of staging a comeback in the Indian team were over. Suresh Raina represented India in 18 Tests,226 ODIs and 78 T20Is. He has scored 5 centuries in one-dayers and a century each in Test and T20I.
Suresh Raina’s decision to retire from international cricket on Independence Day left many fans stunned with disbelief as he was only 33, having last played a match for India in 2018. Even though he was not in the reckoning for India he enjoyed spectacular success in the IPL. He is the second-highest run-getter in the history of IPL with 5368 runs, along with being the tournament’s most capped player with 193 matches most of them for CSK. He also captained Gujarat Lions when Chennai Super Kings was banned from two years in 2016 and 2017.
RP Singh (Image Credit: Twitter)
RP Singh Does Not Rule Out Suresh Raina’s Retirement Turnaround
RP Singh, who played alongside Suresh Raina for Uttar Pradesh, India Under-19 and Indian ‘Men In Blue’ team feels that even though his decision came as a surprise, his chances of playing again for India cannot be ruled out entirely.
“With Raina, I have played a lot of cricket since junior days. As far as Raina’s retirement is concerned people are saying it is a little too early. I guess everyone has to think individually in terms of how physically fit one is, what chances of a comeback they have with regards to the Indian team. That must have played its part in Raina’s decision,” Singh told Cricket.com.
Suresh Raina. Image Credit: Getty Images.
Suresh Raina had played his last Test in 2015 and last ODI and T20I came in 2018 both against England. He was out of the reckoning for 2019 World Cup when the selectors dumped the likes of Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu despite they being consistent with the bat. Several contenders like Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s arrival on the scene hindered the prospects of Suresh Raina’s comeback into the national fold. He played sporadically for India since 2015 World Cup.
RP Singh Says Suresh Raina’s Decision To Retire May Be Due To Intention Of Participating In Foreign League
RP Singh admitted that he was one of the few persons surprised by the timing of his decision. RP Singh, however, does not rule out a potential retirement turnaround by Suresh Raina provided that he has a good upcoming IPL season with CSK in the UAE.
“Who knows if he gets 1000 runs in IPL and then decides to continue again. But when you take a decision to quit you think hard. Raina must have thought deeply about all the factors. Who knows he might explore overseas leagues like Yuvraj did in Canada. There is nothing wrong in that,” he said.
Irfan Pathan and Suresh Raina (Image Credit: Twitter)
“What surprised me was the suddenness of his decision. Just recently, he was saying that he wanted to make a comeback in Test cricket. I heard him saying that in his interaction with Irfan Pathan.”
BCCI does not allow its registered players to compete in global leagues, for example, Caribbean Premier League unless they take retirement. The likes of Yuvraj Singh took retirement from all formats even IPL and participated for Toronto Nationals in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. RP Singh was shocked to hear about sudden decision of Suresh Raina who also was heard saying to former pacer Irfan Pathan of trying to make a Test comeback.
