'Changing times' - Twitter flooded as Mr. IPL Suresh Raina goes unsold in mega auction

Former Indian batter Suresh Raina who is popularly called the Mr. IPL for being one of the most consistent run-scorers has surprisingly gone unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction. The 35-year-old did not have the best of IPL seasons last year despite the CSK franchise going on to win the title. He wasn’t part of the playing XI in the final few games. He managed just 160 runs in 12 games with a solo fifty in the last edition and wasn’t retained ahead of the mega auction.

Raina announced his retirement from international cricket two years back and hasn’t played much professional cricket as well in the meantime. He was recently active on social media trying out the famous Pushpa hook step on Instagram and the fans showed their love for the veteran in the comments section. It has to be noted that Raina has a huge fan base in India, especially in Tamil Nadu for his excellent services for the Chennai Super Kings since the inaugural edition.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Suresh Rain getting unsold

Suresh Raina’s excellent numbers for Chennai Super Kings

Raina is among the top run-scorers in the tournament history with 5528 runs in 205 IPL games at an average of 32.5 and has a strike rate of 136.7. He has 39 fifties in his IPL career along with one century and is one of the most destructive batters going around during his prime. The left-hander’s 87 in 25 balls in the 2014 IPL Qualifier 2 has been one of the most remembered innings for a long time now and it certainly showed his prowess in terms of finding the boundaries at ease.

Raina captained the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 and 2017 and he was expected to be seen as a captaincy potential for a few teams ahead of the mega auction. He has been one of the best fielders India has ever produced and has often been the go-to man for MS Dhoni in the Chennai Super Kings side.

Chennai Super Kings have won four IPL titles so far in history and Raina has had a huge part to play in at least three of those titles. However, the veteran will be available on the accelerated list later in the mega auction and is expected to have a buyer.