Suresh Raina, well known as Mr. IPL, went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction, which did surprise a lot of cricket boffins. Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara believes a particular player might not be suited for the season, which is why he has gone unsold.
Meanwhile, Raina has been a consistent performer in the IPL and he had played a key role in the success of the Chennai Super Kings. However, he wasn’t at his best in the previous season of the Indian Premier League as he scored 160 runs in 12 matches at an average of 17.77 and a strike rate of 125.
As Raina has retired from International, he isn’t playing regularly, which was also one of the reasons he went unsold in the auction. Furthermore, Raina didn’t play in the domestic circuit and none of the 10 franchises showed any interest in him after he had set his base price at INR 2 crores.
Sangakkara said on Red Bull Cricket on the Clubhouse app, “There are different ways to look at it. As the years go by, players change and reputations are also made by younger players. In the case of Suresh Raina, his reputation is unbelievable in IPL cricket. He has been an absolute legend, one of the best and top-most performers season after season. When you go into granular detail, perhaps the player is not suited for that season.”
He added: “It takes nothing away from the player being one of the best, or the player being of absolutely high quality and it is something that analysts, coaches, and owners look for.”
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta added that one or two franchises will go for Suresh Raina in the IPL auction as the veteran batter had all the experience under his belt.
“Raina is Mr. IPL to a great extent. He is an IPL great but has dipped in the recent seasons. But I was a little surprised because there are 10 teams and when you have someone like Raina, who has a lot of experience. Maybe he has another year or two left. I thought one or two franchises might go for Raina because of his experience.”
Raina has amassed 5528 runs in 205 IPL matches at an average of 32.52 and a strike rate of 136.73. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings will begin their title defense against the previous season’s runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on March 26.
