'Talk about loyalty'- Suresh Raina dons CSK jersey during recent practice session

Suresh Raina was a key member of the Chennai Super Kings ever since the inception of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and has been a part of all of their four title triumphs as well as the now-defunct CLT20 victories in the 2010 and 2014 editions.

Even though he was not a part of the Chennai-based franchise for IPL 2022, ‘Chinna Thala’ showed true loyalty as he was spotted donning the CSK practice jersey when he returned to practice on Wednesday, August 24. The video was posted by a passionate fan on his official Twitter handle, and it went viral in no time. He captioned it as “Guy had so many reasons to delete stuff but still donning the CSK kit instead. Talk about loyalty”.

Guy had so many reasons to delete stuff but still donning the CSK kit instead. Talk about loyalty. pic.twitter.com/JYcoiBqaPI

— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) August 24, 2022

Suresh Raina’s illustrious IPL career

Fondly known as ‘Mr.IPL’, Suresh Raina is the fifth-highest run-getter in IPL history, having amassed 5528 runs averaging 32.52 at a strike rate of 136.43 in the 205 matches that he has played. It is to be noted that the veteran middle-order batter is a very accomplished batter when it comes to the IPL knockout encounters, having amassed  714 runs from 24 appearances at an average of 37.57 and a strike rate of 155.2, including seven half-centuries.

Apart from this, the southpaw has also hit more fours (51) and sixes (40) than anyone else in the IPL playoffs and the finals. He also holds the record of scoring the fastest half-century, which was registered only off 16 balls. Raina has also been adjudged the Player of the Match award thrice in IPL knockouts which is the joint-highest with Kieron Pollard and Faf du Plessis.

Moreover, Suresh Raina, to date, remains the only player to bag the Player of the Match award in the Qualifier, Eliminator, and Final of IPL.

The UP cricketer had a forgettable last couple of seasons. He backed out from the 2020 edition just two weeks before its commitment citing ‘personal reasons’, and the 2021 season turned out to be a forgettable one for him with the bat, where he could only manage 160 runs at an average of 17.77and a strike rate of 125.00 from 12 games.

Even though ‘Chinna Thala’ had registered his name for the IPL 2022 mega auction at a base price of INR two crore, he found no takers and went unsold. Nonetheless, he did participate in the 15th edition of the marquee tournament as an expert and was one of the members of the Hindi commentary panel.