Suresh Raina retires to play in South Africa T20s

Suresh Raina announced his retirement in twitter this Tuesday. He said, “It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket. I would like to thank sir & all my fans for their support and unwavering faith in my abilities”.

His decision to leave cricket is the result of his desires to play in T20 leagues in South Africa. Playing for the country or other domestic purpose had left him ineligible for the foreign tournaments which could enhance his career even more. Raina took retirement from international cricket in August 15, 2020 within one hour after MS Dhoni took his.  

The 32 year old was not selected by the franchise at Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. But the young batter is going to give a new turn to his career by participating in T20 leagues across the globe. He going to be seen playing the leagues in countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE.

News daily Dainik Jagran mentioned these words of Raina that stated “I want to continue playing cricket for two or three years. There are some exciting youngsters who are coming through the ranks of Uttar Pradesh cricket. I have already taken my No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). I have informed BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Vice-president Rajiv Shukla about my decision.”

Raina’s had already represented India in 226 ODIs, 18 Tests, and 78 T20Is in his successful international career of 13 years since 2009. He was also honoured by a chance of captaining the team for a short time. He had made 5615 runs from 226 ODIs and 1605 from 78 T20Is for India. Raina, is also the first Indian to make a century in each of the three formats of the game. Raina was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team under Dhoni’s captainship.

Raina was spotted saying,“I will play in the Road Safety Series. T20 franchises from South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE have contacted me but I am yet to take any decision”. This series is set to begin from September 10.