Suresh Raina may no longer play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL but he seems to still be emotionally attached to the franchise. Rains is among the top scorers in the IPL and has scored most of his runs for CSK.
Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, Raina was seen bidding for CSK in the Jio Cinema mock auction. A total of 332 players will be auctioned in the auction to cover 77 places, of which 30 are foreign places. The 10 franchises together have a remaining purse of nearly Rs 263 crore to buy the remaining players.
In between the show, Suresh Raina appeared to take a phone call and said “Whoever called Dhoni bhai, is planning an auction in Dubai and said, “Definitely not.”
Suresh Raina:
“I got a call from MS Dhoni bhai for the IPL mini auction and he said: Definitely not.” 😂#IPL2024Auction pic.twitter.com/qv8uOTuQsd
— (@legendmsd_07) December 19, 2023
The phrase “definitely not” became instantly popular after Harsha Bhogle asked MS Dhoni if he would retire from the IPL after winning the fourth title with CSK in IPL 2021. His response was “Definitely not”, which was became a slogan.
CSK could buy back Shardul Thakur: Suresh Raina
Talking about the IPL 2024 auction, CSK is left with a purse of Rs 31.4 crore to buy the remaining six players, three of whom are overseas slots. The franchise retained 19 players with MS Dhoni set to lead the team once again. CSK and MI have won five IPL titles and are looking to win their sixth.
Ahead of the auction, CSK, like many other franchises, is looking for a quality Indian and foreign pacer. Deepak Chahar was retained by the franchise. However, he has not played much cricket since the last IPL season and has been suffering from injury problems. He also missed the India vs South Africa T20I and ODI series due to family reasons.
Former CSK player Raina spoke about some players that CSK could consider buying back. She hopes the franchise will buy back Shardul Thakur, who was released by KKR after just one season. Shardul managed to get 15 wickets in 14 matches for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022, but for KKR he went all the way losing runs at an economy of 10.48 runs per over.
“He’s very similar to Pat Cummins. He has done well both in the bowling department and with the bat. KKR, I don’t think he used it that way. When he played for CSK, he did very well. He brought a lot of quality with both the old ball and the new one. (Deepak) Chahar is a bit injury prone, and (Matheesha) Pathirana is too. He is an all-rounder like Deepak Chahar.” said Suresh Raina during the mock auction of Jio Cinema on Monday.
Raina further said that since Shardul previously played for the franchise, he understands CSK management and MS Dhoni’s leadership, so he could be an important player for the franchise. Playing for CSK, Thakur took 55 wickets at an average of 27.53 between 2018-2021.
“He (Shardul) understands CSK management, he understands leadership. And MS used it shrewdly and well. I think it is an important purchase. I think like Abhinav Mukund said, he is a very important Indian bowler. And his form will be crucial.” Raina added.
Also Read: IPL 2024 Auction: Neither CSK nor KKR!! Sanjay Manjrekar lists teams that will target Mitchell Starc