IPL 2024: Is Suresh Raina Set To Make A Comeback To The Indian Premier League? Former Cricketer Drops Massive Hint

Updated - 24 Dec 2023, 02:50 PM

Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina (Image Credits; Twitter)

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Suresh Raina hinted at a potential new role in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Suresh Raina’s social media post suggests that he might join the Lucknow Super Giants as their new team mentor for the IPL 2024.

There were speculations about the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) considering Suresh Raina as a replacement for Gautam Gambhir in the upcoming season. Gambhir recently concluded a two-year association with the Lucknow franchise in the world’s richest cricket league.

Gambhir served as the mentor for the Super Giants since its inception in 2022, guiding the team to consistent playoff appearances in IPL 2022 and 2023. However, the former Indian opening batter joined the KKR support staff as a mentor before the IPL 2024 mini-auction.

Suresh Rains Shares Cryptic Post On Social Media

A user on the X (Twitter) platform posted a rumor about Suresh Raina joining the Lucknow franchise as a mentor, stating it as the “homecoming of UP Boy.” In response, journalist Abhishek Tripathi dismissed the information as “absolutely fake news” in a tweet.

The tweet read, “Suresh Raina is set to be announced as the Mentor of Lucknow Supergiants for IPL 2024. The homecoming of UP Boy.”

The journalist tweeted, “Nihayat farzi khabar (Absolutely fake news).”

Suresh Raina added fuel to the rumors with a cryptic post about his potential role with the Super Giants. Raina responded to Abhishek Tripathi’s dismissal of the news, questioning the journalist’s confidence by stating, “Your news can’t be right all the time?”

Suresh Raina Announced His Retirement From IPL In September 2022

Suresh Raina, widely recognized as Mr. IPL, consistently delivered for the Chennai Super Kings since the inaugural season of the tournament. The left-handed batter played a pivotal role in the Chennai-based franchise’s four trophy-winning campaigns throughout his career.

However, Raina’s batting performance declined after 2019. He holds the record for the highest run scorer for the Chennai franchise, amassing 4687 runs in 176 matches. The southpaw crafted 33 half-centuries and one century, with his highest score being an unbeaten 100 runs.

The 37-year-old missed the IPL 2020 season, and his subsequent performance in the following season was disappointing. He managed to score only 160 runs in 12 outings in the IPL 2021. Despite winning the season, Suresh Raina was not retained by the MS Dhoni-led side.

Suresh Raina made an unexpected announcement about his retirement from the IPL in September 2022. This decision rendered him eligible to participate in overseas leagues. He took part in the leagues such as the Road Safety World Series and Legends League Cricket, Abu Dhabi T10 and US Masters T10 tournaments.

LSG Full Squad: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Shivam Mavi, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, David Willey, Mohd. Arshad Khan.

Also read: IPL 2024: Watch – ‘Unhone Mujhe Phone Kiya…’ – Suresh Raina’s Interesting Revelation About MS Dhoni’s Marriage Invitation

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Gautam Gambhir Indian Premier League (IPL) IPL 2024 Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Suresh Raina