Suresh Raina, who has not been picked by the franchise at the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction, earlier this year will ply his trade in the different T20 leagues across the globe.
On Tuesday, he made the announcement on Twitter by saying, “It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket.” The southpaw has decided to bid adieu to the IPL and will play in T20 leagues in South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE. Raina will not play for Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming domestic season.
Earlier, Raina was quoted by news daily Dainik Jagran saying, “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.”
The former India batter Suresh Raina will play in the Road Safety World Series, starting from September 10.
“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,” said Raina, who has been training at the RPL cricket ground in Ghaziabad for the past one year.
Raina had announced his retirement from international cricket less than one hour after MS Dhoni announced his on August 15, 2020. Raina was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team under Dhoni.
Raina represented India in 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is in an international career spanning 13 years. He also had the honour of captaining the team briefly. Raina mustered 5615 runs from 226 ODIs and 1605 from 78 T20Is for India. Raina, who scored a century on debut in Tests, is also the first Indian to slam hundreds in all three formats of the game and his centuries were scored outside India.
