No more Raina to Rescue CSK, “Mr.IPL- OUT OF IPL” | Flamboyant Farewell

A flip of a coin may decide who has to bowl and who has to bat but someone’s bat or (and) ball can design the destiny of the game itself.

Every team has one such superman, sole match-winner, who can turn the tables, and act as a guardian angel to save the team from getting sunk. For CSK it was Mr.IPL – Suresh Raina.

It was all started back in the summer of 2008. It was the inaugural season of IPL. CSK pinned its hopes on an all-rounder, who was just 22 years old. They invested their money in that young lad and from there the yield they harvested because of him was phenomenal. Rather than saying that he is a treasure of CSK, we can say that this icon is one among the identities of IPL itself.

Throughout this fabulous voyage his bat had spoken the loyalty, he had for his franchise, it remained as sceptre he was holding to rule the field and to invade the opposition. If not for 2020, which stood as a year of a dispute between CSK and Raina, all the other years, right from the First IPL season Raina was part of the team, when CSK was set to play. In this tenure with CSK, he played 176 matches, scored 4687 runs at a strike rate of 136.88 runs, which include a century and 33 half-centuries too. He was the first Indian to score a century, each in every format. He was standing second in IPL to score more runs for a single franchise. Kohli stands first for RCB, with 6283 runs. This is the reason why the CSK fans were torn into pieces when even CSK, the team to which he worked his fingers to the bone was not ready to raise the bid just for this selfless hero.

Rather than this, his total runs of 5528 in IPL is scripted with 506 boundaries and 203 sixers. He is the only player to score 400+ runs in the most number of seasons. He played in 13 seasons and did it 9 times for his team. This is the reason why he is called the man of consistency. Only one time, he failed to score less than 300 in a season, (In IPL 2021- 160 runs) and that time he was thrown away by the yellow army, even without being given the second chance, which he deserves more than anyone else. It was explained by the management that they did not know where to fit him into the team, and that is the reason why they did not go for him. This is highly unacceptable. The real truth is even if not in playing 11 every match, CSK owes him, 2 crores (his base money) and a farewell match too.

Rather than mere runs, the impact he had created is magnificent. Several times, he rose above all the odds, in midst of impossibilities, went beyond all the limitations, fought like the warrior, to be a saviour, scoring the runs single-handedly for the team. Sometimes, that did not result in victory even, but for sure, he fought. His tremendous stint has been filled with such great knocks.

One such greatest knocks of all the times, in the entire IPL history happened in the year 2014. It was the second qualifier match. Punjab’s Super King, Sehwag played an outstanding inning and scored 122 runs in just 58 balls and put the opposition in bits and pieces. CSK had to chase a tremendous score of 227. A great CSK batsman came out and batted like he was on the edge of the battle, out of his soul and heart. His bat was talking loudly all alone. He was giving explanations for a mega-sized cameo. Pockets of runs came in boundaries and sixers like a rushing rocket, which escaped the earth’s gravity. He was not from the Caribbean soil who fulfilled the role of an all-rounder, all around the franchise cricket. He was our own Raina who revolved his bat in all the eight directions that day, scored unbelievable, 87 runs from 25 balls. He came inside in one-down position, in the very first over and stayed there only till the seventh over. Within that short duration of time, he arrested and panicked the Punjab bowlers and even the Mumbai shook a little, with that monstrous knock. Even though CSK lost this match, this knock will be remembered till the day, IPL will be played or even after that. Not only on this occasion, but several other times, when everything went out of hands, Raina had won it for CSK.

Not only in league matches, but also even in the critical games, Raina came to the rescue of CSK. He is holding the record for scoring more runs in IPL knockouts (714 runs) and most runs in IPL finals (249 runs). This clearly shows how much contribution Raina had made to CSK to lift the trophy. In only one season, (In IPL 2021) CSK had won the championship, without Raina playing his part. That resulted in CSK’s decision to drop its star batsman.

A true fan of CSK, for sure, would have gone through a hell of pain, when the words “Raina unsold” flashed on the television. Sometimes, very rarely, the fans use to think about the player, a little above the team. It was one such occasion. Till now, the pain stays still in their hearts.

As a fielder, Raina’s role was incredible. Earlier, during Yuvraj and Kaif’s era, they had brought a lot of energy in the field, to the Indian side through their fielding stunts. Raina did the exact thing for CSK with his outstanding fielding efforts. He was the one who used to prevent at least a few boundaries for the CSK side, on the regular basis. More than that his celebrations were so cool. He used to celebrate the wicket even before the bowler. One can only rarely come across the persons, who enjoy the victory of their teammates. Raina is 24 carat gold, team man! CSKians are going to badly miss those celebrations especially. Raina’s bowling economy of 7.38 was decent enough for him to bowl, a few overs when it is needed. He picked 25 wickets in IPL, for CSK.

When the team management released him for the auction, CSK fans thought that they will get him back. But what made them feel bad was, the same franchise, which was ready to bid for Rahul Tewatia, for more than 5 crores, was not came forward for the man who did so much to the team. At least for du Plessis, they attempted, but for Raina, they washed their hands. Last time, in UAE, the pitch was batsman’s graveyard and that could have prevented him from showing some decent show. This time, if he was selected maybe things will be different as the tournament is going to take place in India.

Above all, the brotherhood bonding of Dhoni – Raina, their partnerships at the critical moments of the game, their way of looking at the possibilities from the impossible situations, how they swept the opposite team, how they went through the paths of ups and downs with the joined hands, everything is going to be a mere memory which may fade with time. That is what is the most traumatic thing for every CSK fan.

Retirement is a painful process and its pain will be endured for years together. At the same time, the pain of getting stabbed by the beloved ones will hurt one more than that. Raina is going through the combination of these two phases, at present.

A left-hand all-rounder is always an asset to a team and CSK had lost its gem and maybe they will regret it later or they may find a new hand too. After all, that is the mentality of any employer towards his employee.

But for loyal CSK fans, who remember, every bit of his contributions he will remain as their special “CHINNA THALA” who possess a lot of their love and respect.

It is not a custom for any IPL franchise, to conduct a farewell party for one of its star players. But if possible, Raina is the one who deserves it more than any other players. Hope it happens!

The glories of Raina are written in the trophies that CSK had won so far and it will stay there for a long time.