Suresh Raina Reveals A Couple Of Incidents Of On-Field Banters With MS Dhoni

Former Indian cricketers MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina share a brilliant camaraderie. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina have shared some of the most memorable partnerships in international cricket and the IPL. Their friendship remains intact even now. Meanwhile, Suresh Raina has recollected a couple of moments when he shared an on-field banter with MS Dhoni.

While Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni played together for the most part in IPL for the Chennai Super Kings, they were on the opposite sides in 2016 and 2017. Suresh Raina captained the Gujarat Lions in those couple of years, while MS Dhoni was part of the Rising Pune Supergiants. But it hardly diminished their bond. In fact, the pair retired from international cricket on the same day.

Suresh Raina recalled his days at the Gujarat Lions, saying that with Ravichandran Ashwin bowling, Brendon McCullum batting, MS Dhoni behind the stumps, Faf Du Plessis at slips, and with himself at the non-striker’s end, it felt like playing at a neighbourhood league. The 34-year old remembered Dhoni welcoming him to the crease as he walked out to bat in a fun way.

“Yes, there were mixed emotions. I remember we were playing in Rajkot and, Ashwin was bowling’ McCullum was at the non-striker end; I was batting; Dhoni bhai was keeping; Faf du Plessis was standing at first slip. It felt like we were playing the Kanga League of my neighborhood! (chuckles)… When I went in to bat, Dhoni bhai said, ‘Aao aao captain sahab, aao’, and I said ‘Aare hai are hai bhai, zara peeche ho thoda!’ (I am coming brother, move aside first!). This was all very fun,” Raina said as quoted by Times Now.

We had gone to Ireland in 2018 and enjoyed ourselves there after the matches: Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina also revealed that when India toured Ireland in 2018, MS Dhoni carried drinks for him and he also asked for plenty of bats and gloves. The keeper-batsman responded by poking fun at Raina when he asked Dhoni for grip as well amid the cold weather.

“We had gone to Ireland in 2018 and enjoyed ourselves there after the matches. Dhoni bhai carried drinks for me there. At one moment, he thought that I asked for a lot of gloves and bats, so he brought the whole kit bag to the ground and said: ‘Take whatever you want, don’t call me again’. I think I was batting alongside Rahul and we both had hit fifties. He (Dhoni) said ‘I won’t come again, it’s very cold out here’. (chuckles) I still said, ‘Do one thing, bring a grip as well’. And he replied: ‘Bohot bade waala hai tu, tu rukja, paani pi, mai leke aata hu’. So it was that kind of fun. I thought to myself that I’ll take full revenge that day,” he added.

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