‘Do a Shahid Afridi’ – Aakash Chopra asks Suresh Raina to come out of retirement

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has urged Suresh Raina to come out of retirement with the T20 World Cup next year in mind. On Saturday, August 15, the southpaw called it a day after making his debut back in 2005 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Chopra feels that some good outings in the 2020 and 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) could help Raina make the cut for the T20 WC in India.

Raina has been a linchpin for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), having played since 2008 and being their all-time leading run-scorer. Chopra was clear cut in saying that the left-hander has plenty of time left ahead of him and fitness isn’t much of a concern for him as well.

Even as Chopra found a logic behind MS Dhoni hanging his boots, Raina’s retirement baffled him to a large extent. Chopra, who played 10 Tests for India from October 2003 to October 2004, put forth his opinions on his YouTube channel.

Suresh Raina had no such problems, says Chopra

“Of course, Suresh Raina could have played a lot more, he had no need to retire. Now he is 33 years old and yes there were some injury issues but which player does not have injury issues? And now after surgery he was fitter, stronger and better and in my thinking he was itching to be back on the field,” Chopra mentioned

“You can understand Dhoni’s case as if the IPL has taken place in April-May, the T20 World Cup would have taken place in October-November and maybe Dhoni would have been available for it. But maybe its postponement is the main reason why Dhoni retired,” he stated.

Asking Raina to reconsider his decision to retire, Chopra gave former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi’s example. “But Raina had no such problems to be very honest. I would say please do a Shahid Afridi and come out of retirement. I believe that a couple of brilliant IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons can well see Raina in India’s T20 World Cup squad,” he added.

In his career, Raina mostly dominated in the ODI and T20I format. However, despite scoring a ton on debut, his Test career could never take off. He last played for India in the 2018 tour of England.