He Didn't Know The Real Reasons: Suresh Raina Responds To N Srinivasan's Critical Comments For Him

Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina has downplayed the recent critical comments from team owner N Srinivasan. A day after the left-handed batsman sensationally left the CSK camp in UAE to return to India citing personal reasons, Srinivasan did not shy away from criticising the same.

The former BCCI president had said Suresh Raina would realise what he is missing out on by skipping the IPL and also said that his absence won’t have an impact on the team. He even backed young batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad to replace him in the playing eleven for the upcoming season.

“The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money he is going to lose,” Srinivasan had said.

The CSK owner did not hide his disappointment as he said if someone was unhappy then he won’t force anyone to stay back. There were also reports of rift between Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni over the room allotted to the former and Srinivasan’s comments only fuelled the rumours.

“My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything … sometimes success gets into your head,” he had said.

“Cricketers are like prima donnas … like the temperamental actors of the olden days. Chennai Super Kings have always been like a family and all seniors players have learned to co-exist,” he added.

Suresh Raina’s reaction:

Suresh Raina, however, has downplayed everything as he said Srinivasan is like a father figure to him. He insisted that Srinivasan’s comments were taken out of context while also stating that the latter did not know the exact reason behind his departure.

“He is like a father figure to me and he’s always stood by me and is close to my heart. He treats me like his younger son and am sure a lot of what he said was taken out of context. Ek baap apne bacche ko daant sakta hai(A father can scold his son),” Suresh Raina told Cricbuzz.

“He didn’t know the real reasons for me leaving when he gave those comments. Now he’s been informed about them and he even sent me a message thereafter. We’ve chatted about it and both CSK and I just want to get over with it,” he added.

Suresh Raina is an integral part of the team since 2008, the first-ever season of IPL. He is the franchise’s highest run-getter. In 2018, CSK retained three players before assembling the rest of the squad at the layer auction and he was one of them. Dhoni was the first player retained at INR 15 crore, Suresh Raina was the second at INR 11 crore and Ravindra Jadeja the third at INR 7 crore.

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