Picture Credit: Twitter
Suresh Raina, the former Indian and Chennai Super Kings star, has made a startling revelation that he was dropped from the playing XI of CSK towards the end of the IPL 2021 season, on his own discretion. The 36-year-old cricketer mentioned that MS Dhoni, the captain of Chennai Super Kings, took permission from him to let Robin Uthappa play in his place in the starting lineup.
The 2021 season of the Indian Premier League saw the leanest patch of Suresh Raina in his entire franchise career. The southpaw only scored 160 runs in 12 matches at an average of 17.77 and strike-rate of 125, with a solitary fifty. And it proved to be the last-ever IPL campaign for the UP-based cricketer, who went onto win four trophies in the league as a player.
While discussing the matter with Robin Uthappa on JioCinema, Suresh Raina was quoted as saying, “When MS Dhoni and I talked, I suggested him that ‘you should try Robin Uthappa’. He (MS Dhoni) took permission from me to play you and I told him that ‘he is the guy to give you the final, trust me’.”
The former ODI World Cup talked about convincing the CSK captain to give Robin Uthappa game time in the starting XI, while stating that he missed out on playing ‘was not in the dictionary of MS Dhoni.’
Suresh Raina further explained, “MS Dhoni said that ‘see we have played since 2008 but I want to win this season. Now, you tell me what to do.’ I said ‘play Robin at number 3 and make sure he is in the playing XI till final. If you win, CSK will win. Whether I play or him, Robin and Raina are same’.”
In the IPL 2021, Robin Uthappa ended up taking part in four matches for Chennai Super Kings at the end of the tournament, with quality returns at the top of the order. He got 115 runs at an average of 28.75 and strike-rate of 136.90, including one important fifty.
