Chinna Thala & Mr. IPL Suresh Raina makes a huge announcement with an emotional note!

Suresh Raina is one of the IPL stalwarts and a former batting legend in the Indian international team. He is fondly called ‘Mr. IPL’ by the fans. Though Raina is among the highest run scorers in the Indian Premier League, he had gone unsold in the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022. 

The left-handed top-order batter is a major part of the Chennai Super Kings’ legacy. He last played for CSK in IPL 2021. He is celebrated as ‘Chinna Thala’ and he announced retirement from International cricket following Thala MS Dhoni’s retirement in 2020. 

As per the latest reports, Suresh Raina has decided to retire from IPL and domestic cricket as well. According to Dainik Jagran, the experienced southpaw will be participating in some overseas leagues henceforth. In domestic cricket, he has been the mainstay for Uttar Pradesh over the years but he won’t be seen in the UP team anymore. 

Raina said, “I wish to play cricket for around 2-3 years more. A lot of good players are there in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) domestic team now and doing really well. I have obtained NOC from UPCA as well. I have even informed BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Rajiv Shukla about my decision. I want to thank BCCI and UPCA for supporting me in my career. I am looking forward to playing in different leagues around the world. I will feature in the Road Safety world series which starts on 10th September. Franchises from South Africa, Sri Lanka and UAE have approached me till now. Once the situation gets cleared, I will inform everyone myself.” 

Taking to his social media handles, Suresh Raina himself made his retirement official. The iconic T20 batter wrote, “It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket. I would like to thank @BCCI, @UPCACricket, @ChennaiIPL, @ShuklaRajiv sir & all my fans for their support and unwavering faith in my abilities” (sic).