N Srinivasan clarifies his 'prima donna' comment on Suresh Raina; says CSK will always stand by him in tough times

N Srinivasan’s statement on Suresh Raina in an interview went viral on Sunday night and it also indicated at a possible rift between the franchise and the cricketer. ‘Sometimes success gets into your head’ were Srinivasan’s words while addressing the issue and it cleared that all is not well with Raina who pulled out of entire IPL last week. However, the CSK boss is now peeved at the manner in which his statements have been taken out of context.

He has now praised the southpaw for his excellent contribution to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since the inception of the IPL. Suresh Raina is the second highest run-getter in the IPL ever only behind Virat Kohli and has amassed 5368 runs in 189 innings at a strike-rate of 137.14 with 38 half-centuries to his name. He is also known as Chinna Thala (second in command) to skipper MS Dhoni or Thala (leader).

Speaking to the Times of India on Monday, Srinivasan stated that Raina has been exceptional for the franchise over the years and understands the space he needs at the moment. He also confirmed that the CSK supports him during these tough times. “his (Raina’s) contribution to the CSK franchise has been phenomenal through the years. It is important to understand what Suresh is going through right now and give him space.

“The franchise will always stand by him and he has our complete support during these times of distress,” he said while also explaining his ‘prima donna’ comment on the cricketer.

These boys have been like a family, says Srinivasan

“These boys, they’re family. They’ve been family for over a decade now. When I said ‘cricketers are like prima donnas’, it wasn’t in a negative sense. A prima donna is the lead singer in an opera. Similarly, cricketers are always at the forefront of an exercise like this,” the CSK boss further said.

Srinivasan also felt that IPL is country’s pride and if it is successfully organised in the UAE amidst the pandemic, it will set a global benchmark for the world sport. “We need to preserve it in all its glory and work towards making it bigger and better. The league was moved out of the country twice in the past, but this time the circumstances are different. On that count, Indian cricket is setting a global benchmark for world sport.

“A successful IPL in UAE should and will become the new global benchmark for sports in the post-Covid era. It is something to be proud of,” he concluded.