Suresh Raina
Veteran Indian cricketer Suresh Raina on Saturday wished good luck to his team Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2020 season opener against defending champion Mumbai Indians at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Raina will not be part of the entire 13th edition of the tournament as he had opted out citing "personal reasons". He was part of the CSK pre-season training session at the Chepauk and had travelled with the team to Dubai as well before returning back to India.
"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," tweeted Raina.
Raina's absence might hurt Chennai Super Kings' cause in the UAE owing the lack of left-handed batting option in the batting lineup. While most have opined in promoting either all-rounder Sam Curran or Ravindra Jadeja to No.3 with both being left-handed batsmen, Raina feels that captain MS Dhoni shpuld replace him in the batting lineup.
In conversation with Outlook earlier this month, Raina justified his point by recalling the captain's impressive 148-run knock in 2005 against Pakistan at home.
"He has the experience to bat at that position. How can one forget Dhoni's 148 against Pakistan in the second ODI at Visakhapatnam in April 2005," said Raina.
The former Indian cricketer also reckons that Dhoni has the ability to "win a match single-handedly and can change the course of a match anytime."
"It's a very crucial position and the No. 3 position will give Dhoni more flexibility," said Raina.
