Picture Credit: CSK
The two-day IPL 2022 Mega Auction brought glory for some and heartbreaks for others. A total of 204 players found one of the ten franchises securing them for the next three years. On the other hand, a bigger bunch went ignored or better say unsold. Some prominent names failed to find a bidder and were shown the exit door. The most shocking name to have missed out on an IPL contract was Suresh Raina.
The man who has been proudly carrying the tag of Mr. IPL over the years went unsold. Not one franchise showed interest in the southpaw, not even his former franchise Chennai Super Kings. The cricket fans were shocked to see a player like Raina go unsold as much as Raina himself would have been when his name was not even included in the 69 names for the second acceleration round. But what caused one of the biggest upsets at the IPL Mega Auction?
Everyone was finding the possible reason behind such rude behaviour towards one of the top servants from a franchise that is famous for showing faith in its players. CSK CEO Kashi Vishwanath explained why Raina was not preferred at the auction, but Chinna Thala fans found it inappropriate. For the people searching for what went wrong, Simon Doull may have the answer.
The former New Zealand cricketer has reasoned on Raina getting ignored by CSK management at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Doull believes Suresh Raian lost the loyalty of the management and most importantly, MS Dhoni. "There are two to three parts to it. He lost his loyalty in the UAE; we don't need to go on (and talk about) why it was. There's enough speculation about that. He lost the loyalty of the team, and he lost the loyalty of MS Dhoni. Once you do that, you're very unlikely to be welcomed back," Doull said on Cricbuzz.
You do silly things and pay the price: Simon Doull
Simon Doull went on to explain the other problems Raina has had in the recent past. He pointed out Raina's vulnerability against the short ball. Doull also acknowledged Raina's contribution in the last decade but reckoned everything comes to an end, and it's Raina's turn, unfortunately.
"You're not fit and you're scared of the short ball. You're not paying 500 USD for him at any auction. He's been an absolute great of the IPL. One of the leading lights in the first 8-9 years, but unfortunately, time comes to an end. You do silly things and you pay the price," Doull added.