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If there is one player in the Indian Premier League on whom there will be lot of spotlight in the next few months, it has to be Mr. IPL - Suresh Raina. The 34-year-old has been one of the most consistent batsman in this tournament over the years bit things haven't really gone according to the plan for him in last couple of years.
He had to miss the entire IPL 2020 campaign due to personal reasons and after he returned for CSK in IPL 2021, it was a rather disappointing season for him as he returned with 160 runs in 12 matches before getting dropped for the final few games. And now, it seems like the end of beautiful relationship between Raina and Chennai Super Kings.
CSK set to release Raina ahead of mega auctions
The Yellow Army is set to retain the services of MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali, which means that Chinna Thala will be released by the franchise for the first time in history of IPL. Although they might look to buy him back in the mega auctions, it won't be as easy as they might have to face some competition with another franchise reportedly keen to secure the services of stylish left-handed batsman.
As per sources close to SportsTiger, Delhi Capitals are likely to go for Suresh Raina in mega auctions. If it turns out to be true, it will certainly be a huge addition for the franchise who are still looking to win their first IPL title and the experience of Raina will certainly help a young-looking squad, which have retained the quartet of Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel and Anrich Nortje for next season.
Raina has expressed his desire to play for Delhi in past
In one of the interactions with RJ Raunac few months back in September, Suresh Raina was asked to name a franchise who he would love to play apart from CSK. That is when the left-handed batsman had expressed his desire to play for Delhi. “Delhi hai! Ghar bhi pass hai, Muradnagar se pass hai, aur kaafi dost hai us team mein. So, I’d prefer Delhi,” Raina said.
But with two new franchises - Lucknow and Ahmedabad - also in the fray now, it will be quite interesting to see who secures the services of experienced southpaw for next season of IPL.