On Saturday, the announcement of Suresh Raina’s sudden exit from IPL 2020 made headlines. The Chennai Super Kings player cited personal reasons for his return to India, but it, however, raised many eyebrows. But it seems like Raina’s decision of not returning for the entire tournament has not gone down well with many. Soon after the announcement, reports of Raina’s uncle passing away while his aunt is in critical condition after a violent attack in Pathankot started doing the rounds on social media. However, an Outlook report stated that Raina was unhappy with the hotel room he was given. The report states Raina is said to have found the rooms of the bio-bubble claustrophobic and wanted a room with a balcony like the captain.
Speaking about the same, an IPL source revealed to PTI, “In CSK, the norm is that the coach, captain and the manager get suites. However, Raina also gets a suite in any hotel that the franchise stays. It’s just that his room didn’t have a balcony. It was an issue but I don’t think it was big enough to warrant a comeback (to India). There could be something more than just the scare of rising COVID-caseload in Chennai.”
The IPL source went on to reveal, “He is unavailable this season and that is clear from the official statement issued by the CSK. Now there are certain things that have not gone down too well with the top people. It looks highly improbable that someone who has retired and likely won’t play any cricket will come back for CSK. Maybe, he will be back in the auction and someone else might pick him.”
The source said that the team has not found any replacement for Raina and they are undecided on that. ‘An apology from Raina will have little impact given that the team is looking ahead. I don’t know about the apology part but CSK will now be eyeing to prepare Ruturaj looking at the future and Dhoni and Fleming will rejig their strategy accordingly,” added the source. (ALSO READ: Suresh Raina Reveals How He And MS Dhoni Decided Their Retirement Date, Says They ‘Hugged And Cried’ After Announcing Their Retirement)
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