Suresh Raina to lead Uttar Pradesh in Buchi Babu tournament

Suresh Raina continues to look for every small chance of showcasing himself and make a comeback into the Indian squad as the 30-year-old is now set to play in the All India Buchi Babu Invitational Cricket Tournament to be held in Chennai starting from Saturday. Raina is currently part of the Air India squad in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup tournament in Hyderabad.

However, continuous rains in Hyderabad over the past couple of days spoiled Raina’s hopes of putting on good scores as two of their games were abandoned and the fate of the semi-finals and finals remain unsure. In the two Air India games that were possible, Raina didn’t get to bat against Combined Districts and scored 32 off 33 balls against C.A.G Sports. His campaign in this tournament could end on Thursday in case Air India qualify for the finals.

Speaking to SportStar, the UP skipper confirmed that he will be travelling for the tournament. “I will be in Chennai on September 1st for the Buchi Babu tournament,” said Raina, who will be leading the Uttar Pradesh side in the tournament.

The Uttar Pradesh side, that featured in the tournament last year as well, will be playing against some big teams alongside the three teams from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA); the TNCA President’s XI, TNCA City XI and TNCA Districts XI.

The tournament will mark Raina’s return to Chennai where he spent nearly eight seasons during the Indian Premier League (IPL). He represented the Chennai Super Kings franchise, which was banned from playing the previous two seasons of the IPL. In fact, Raina’s return to the Tamil Nadu was possible earlier only with the left-hander making himself available for the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) draft. However, BCCI sticking to their decision of not allowing outstation players to take part in the state T20 leagues delayed a chance for Raina.

In fact, Raina’s return to the city was expected to happen earlier as he had put his name in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) draft. However, the BCCI stuck to their decision of not allowing outstation players to take part in the state T20 leagues ruined his chances.