Guwahati: The IPL and Suresh Raina’s domestic career in India have come to an end as the former India and Uttar Pradesh batter declared his retirement from “all forms of cricket.”
Raina, 35, had already made the choice to do the same on August 15, 2020, not long after MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.
“It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of cricket,” Raina posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
The choice will enable Raina to participate in international T20 competitions as well as tournaments like the Road Safety Series, for which he has already been confirmed. He was cited as saying, “I want to keep playing cricket for another two or three years,” by Dainik Jagran.
“There are some talented young players rising through Uttar Pradesh cricket’s ranks. My No Objection Certificate (NOC) has already been obtained from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). My choice has been communicated to vice-president Rajiv Shukla and BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
I plan to participate in the Road Safety Series. I’ve been contacted by T20 franchises from South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, but I haven’t made a decision yet,” he said.
Raina’s last IPL match was in October 2021, and he hasn’t played any first-class or list A cricket since 2018. Between 2008 and 2021, Raina played for the Chennai Super Kings for 11 seasons, during which time he was a pivotal member of the team. He continues to be their leading scorer with 4687 runs from 176 matches and has won four titles with CSK in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021. Before the 2022 player auction, in which none of the 10 franchises purchased him, he was released by Chennai Super Kings.
Raina departs with totals of 8654 runs in 336 T20 matches, 8078 runs in 302 list A games, and 6871 runs in 109 first-class games. He started his senior domestic career in 2002–2003 for UP, and in 2005, he made his international debut. Raina was a member of the Indian team that won the ODI World Cup in 2011 and participated in 226 ODIs, 78 T20Is, and 18 Tests. In all three international forms, he was the first Indian hitter to score a century.