Suresh Raina wished his franchise Chennai Super Kings teammates best wishes ahead of the IPL 2020 opener against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi. He is not part of the CSK camp in the UAE but wished the three-time champions the best for the campaign opener against Mumbai Indians.
Chennai Super Kings star batsman said it is unimaginable that he is not part of the camp which is gearing up to face Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the new season in Abu Dhabi. He is the second-highest run-scorer after Virat Kohli and the first batsman to cross 5000 run mark in IPL. The left-hander has played 193 IPL matches and scored 5368 runs including a century.
Suresh Raina Wishes CSK Teammates Success Despite Being Absent
An aggressive left-handed middle-order batsman and an occasional off-spin bowler, Suresh Raina is also regarded as one of the best fielders in world cricket. On 15 August 2020, he announced his retirement from all formats of international cricket apart from IPL, though he was included in the CSK squad but later opted-out despite arriving in UAE along with his teammates.
Wishing you all the success boys @ChennaiIPL. Unimaginable for me that I’m not there today, but all my wishes are with you. Sending you all the good vibes! Go get it! ? #WhistlePodu https://t.co/G48ybhcbYR
— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) September 19, 2020
Suresh Raina has featured in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is and is the first Indian batsman to score centuries in all the three formats of the game. He is the first-ever cricketer to reach 5,000 runs in IPL and has a record of most consecutive appearances for a team-158 for Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings Will Be Without Key Batsman Suresh Raina And Off Spinner Harbhajan Singh
Chennai Super Kings will begin their campaign without Suresh Raina who pulled out of IPL 2020 due to personal reasons. His withdrawal came as a huge surprise as he had travelled to the UAE along with a batch of the CSK teammates. He is the first and only player to have scored over 400 runs in 7 consecutive ( 2008–2014) IPL seasons.
Chennai Super Kings further suffered a jolt when their off-spinner veteran Harbhajan Singh too opted out of the tournament after Suresh Raina both citing personal reasons.
Harbhajan Singh is also one of the leading wicket-taker in IPL history. He has picked up 150 wickets and is only after Lasith Malinga and Amit Mishra. Another newest addition of CSK in 2020, Piyush Chawla too has 150 wickets to his name.