Cricket News

‘MS Dhoni Took Permission…’ – Suresh Raina reveals how he convinced MS Dhoni to drop him from CSK Playing XI during IPL

Suresh Raina says he recommended MS Dhoni to play Robin Uthappa in his place for the rest of IPL 2021

Jun 17, 2023 5:58 pm

One of the most successful cricketing franchise all over the world, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have managed to win the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL) title five times now. In the recently concluded edition of the IPL, CSK won their fifth title to draw level with Mumbai Indians (MI) as the teams to win the title most number of times in the history of the season.

Recently, veteran CSK legend batter Suresh Raina revealed that he once convinced the skipper MS Dhoni for dropping him from the playing eleven at the time of the 2021 edition of IPL. He, further, went on to say that rather than him, he wanted Robin Uthappa to play. Uthappa was given a chance in the remaining two matches of that season which eventually turned out to be a match-winning call from MS Dhoni.

“When MS Dhoni and I spoke, I suggested him that ‘you should try Robin Uthappa’. He (Dhoni) took permission from me to play you (Uthappa) and I said him that ‘he’s the guy to give you the final, trust me,’ Raina said during the conversation with Jio Cinema.

The 36-year-old also went on to reveal that Dhoni wanted to win the 2021 edition as the team have been playing the tournament since 2008, hence he consulted Raina regarding what was needed to be done in order to win the title that year. The legendary CSK player also added that he advised Dhoni to play Robin at number 3 and also make sure that he plays in the playing eleven till the final.

Eventually, this decision proved to be a good move as Uthappa provided great performances in both Qualifier 1 as well as the all-important final. Especially, his contribution in the Qualifier 1 where the former Indian batter scored 63 runs in 44 balls. The 37-year-old batter played four games in the 2021 edition of the IPL scoring 115 runs with a healthy strike rate of 136.9.

Raina was reportedly going to feature in the Lanka Premier League this year but chose not to register his name for the player’s auction.