Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner N Srinivasan has expressed that he is not the right person to make the decision on Suresh Raina’s comeback in this year’s IPL. CSK’s batting mainstay had returned India last week after landing in the UAE to feature in the league. He has cited personal reasons for his pullout from the IPL 2020.
There were many speculations on what led Suresh Raina to take such a bold decision. On Wednesday, the batsman finally gave an interview where he clarified that there was an urgent need for him in his home. He also hinted that he might return to CSK camp in Dubai.
“It was a personal decision and I had to come back for my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately on the home front,” Raina told Cricbuzz in an interview.
After Raina’s departure, N Srinivasan was furious and had said that the former Indian cricketer behaved like “prima donna”. But later, he was quick to clarify his statement, stating that his interview was taken out of context.
N Srinivasan on Suresh Raina’s comeback:
In the interaction with PTI, Srinivasan was inquired about his stance on Suresh Raina’s recent statement. The former BCCI chief said that he has treated the Uttar Pradesh born cricketer as his son but he doesn’t want to interfere in cricketing matters of the franchise.
“I have treated him like one (son). The reason for CSK’s success in IPL over the years is because of the fact that franchise never poked its nose into cricketing matters. India Cements is running cricket since ‘60s. I will always remain like that,” Srinivasan told news agency PTI.
Srinivasan said that they own the franchise but not the players. He cleared that Raina’s return to the UAE depends on CSK captain and team management’s hand. He doesn’t want to intervene in this matter.
“Look, please understand, that that’s not my domain (whether Raina will come back or not) at all,” the former ICC and BCCI chief said. “We own a team, we own the franchise but we do not own players. Team is ours but players are not. I don’t own the players,” he added.
“I am not the cricket captain. I have never told them (team management) whom to play, whom to take in the auction, never. We have the greatest captain of all times. So, why shall I even interfere in cricketing matters?” Srinivasan further said.
Meanwhile, the players tested corona positive in the CSK have cleared on the test. After the second Test results, they would start training in the UAE to prepare for the league set to start from 19th September.