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Suresh Raina who is one of IPL’s most successful batsmen will make his comeback in IPL 2021 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Suresh Raina’s decision to opt-out of IPL 2020 even before the start of the tournament last year in UAE was one of the biggest talking points of the Indian Premier League held in UAE.

Suresh Raina Holds The Key In The CSK Line-up: Parthiv Patel

Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel said the attacking left-hander will hold the key if the men in yellow have to turn things around in the 14th edition of the extravagant tournament while commenting on the return of Suresh Raina in the CSK squad. IPL’s second-highest run-scorer Suresh Raina has 5368 runs in 193 matches at an average of 33.34. He will bat in the top of the order for CSK along with Ambati Rayudu in IPL 2021.

“And now with Suresh Raina coming in the squad. I think he holds the key in the CSK line-up and we have seen what he has done throughout the years of IPL. With him coming back and Ruturaj Gaikwad doing well in domestic cricket and plus MS Dhoni, they’re great players and you can’t count them out for too long,” Parthiv said in Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

Parthiv Patel, Mumbai Indians — Parthiv Patel (Source: PTI)

On 9th December, the 35-year-old Parthiv Patel announced retirement from all forms of professional cricket, which he served for around two decades. Just after his retirement from the game, Parthiv Patel was appointed for the Talent Scout role of the record five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, who won the last two IPL trophies.

Parthiv Patel, who served for six different teams in his 13 years of IPL career, played for Mumbai Indians between 2015 and 2017. He was also a member of IPL winning side Mumbai Indians in the 2015 and 2017 seasons.

Parthiv Patel: MS Dhoni Determined To Get CSK’s Campaign In IPL 2021 Off To A Promising Start

CSK has also roped in the services of spinners Moeen Ali and Krishnappa Gowtham to strengthen their spin-bowling and lower order.

“See, obviously they must be slightly disappointed that they have to get out of Chennai because they have got Moeen Ali in their squad, they have got K Gowtham in their squad. Last year, what went wrong for CSK was, that they were not getting enough runs on the board. Then, in the latter half of the tournament, you saw the emergence of Ruturaj Gaikwad,” said Parthiv.

Commenting about CSK veteran skipper MS Dhoni, Parthiv Patel said the former India captain will be determined to get CSK’s ball rolling from the initial matches.

“He (MS Dhoni) had an indifferent season last year but as we saw how keen he is (spoke to him few times) and he is very determined to get CSK’s ball rolling to start with,” Parthiv added.

Suresh Raina who retired alongside MS Dhoni at 33 years of age from international cricket on 15th August 2020 was supposed to play IPL 2020 before he withdrew citing personal reasons. CSK has won the IPL thrice and is regarded as one of the most successful franchises in T20 history.

“These are the teams who have done well and they know that once they win the first game or the second game — they can start believing again. So, it won’t take much of time for CSK to start the tournament in a positive manner,” said Parthiv.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a forgettable campaign in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, but by the end of the tournament, after finishing 7th in the points table, they had found a new star in young Ruturaj Gaikwad who produced a commendable fightback after initially struggling in the first three matches.

Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a hat-trick of half-centuries in the last three games to amass 204 runs averaging 51 in 6 games after scoring 5 runs in the first 3 outings. He scored unbeaten 65, 72, and unbeaten 62 as CSK won the last 3 games but finished 7th. The franchise released Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Monu Singh, Shane Watson(retired) before IPL 2021 Auctions.

CSK spent big on acquiring services of England’s spinner Moeen Ali on the board while off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham got a big contract from MS Dhoni’s 3-time champions. Another notable player that was acquired was Test specialist batsman Cheteshwar Pujara who announced his desire to play limited-overs T20 cricket again.