‘He lost the loyalty of Chennai team and MS Dhoni’ – Simon Doull after Suresh Raina goes unsold in mega auction
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Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull has said that Suresh Raina had lost the loyalty of Chennai last year during the second leg in the United Arab Emirates. Raina went unsold on the first day (February 12) of the mega auction. Notably, on the next day, he wasn’t even presented in front of the franchises at the stage when other unsold players such as David Miller, Shakib Al Hasan, etc were presented in front of the franchises.
The left-hander had a forgettable season with the bat last year. He could only muster 160 runs in 12 games with only one fifty coming during the first leg back in India. Subsequently, he was released by the four-time winners last November. Meanwhile, Doull explained why Raina went unsold in the mega auction despite Chennai trying to get back their core.
“There are two to three parts to it. He lost his loyalty in the UAE, we don’t need to go on (and talk about) why it was. There’s enough speculation about that. He lost the loyalty of the team and he lost the loyalty of MS Dhoni. Once you do that, you’re very unlikely to be welcomed back,” Doull said on Cricbuzz.
The former Kiwi player added that the Raina is an absolute legend of the ITL. However, the former pointed out Raina’s shortcomings against the short-pitched deliveries.
“You’re not fit and you’re scared of the short ball. You’re not paying 500 USD for him at any auction. He’s been an absolute great of the IPL. One of the leading lights in the first 8-9 years, but unfortunately, time comes to an end. You do silly things and you pay the price,” Doull added.
