Why Chennai Super Kings didn’t pick “Mr IPL” Suresh Raina at IPL Mega Auction 2022?

For many young athletes IPL Mega Auction was beyond imagination for them as they got picked up by various franchises, but for ‘Mr IPL’ Suresh Raina IPL auction didn`t ended the way he must have wanted as he didn`t get picked up by any franchise including Chennai Super Kings.  His IPL records are the proof of his legacy and his class. He has scored 5528 runs in 204 matches with an average of 32.52 including 39 half-centuries and one century, with the highest score of 100.

On a You-Tube video Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanath explained why the management didn`t picked ‘Mr IPL’ Suresh Raina.

“Raina has been one of the most consistent performers for CSK for the last 12 years. Of course, it was very difficult for us, not to have Raina but at the same time, you should also understand that the team composition depends on the form and kind of team which any team would like to have”, he said.

So that’s one of the reasons why we thought he may not fit into this team,” he further added.

CSK bowling Coach Lakshmipathy Balaji was also present in that video and he said that:

Yes like Kasi Sir said it is time to be a transforming phase and I am sure a couple of youngsters will fill in the shoes who will get opportunities and will definitely become the next superstar from this set-up. So yeah I wish everyone good luck and all the best for the season.”

During the IPL Mega Auction, Chennai bought back most of the player they released before the auction; CSK spent a whooping amount of 14 crores to bought back Deepak Chahar. Deepak is now the most expensive player that CSK has ever bought in the auction.

CSK even bought back players like Ambati Rayudu for 6.75 cr, Dwayne Bravo for 4.40 cr and Robin Uthappa for 2 cr.  Suresh Raina joined Chennai Super Kings in 2008 and since then he was playing for the same franchise except for two seasons in 2016 and 2017 when he joined Gujarat Lions as CSK got banned for 2 years by the BCCI for fixing the matches.

Last IPL season has seen a drop in form of Raina as he only scored 160 runs in 12 matches with an average of 17.78

“We will miss him, we will miss Faf who has been with us for the last decade, that’s the process and dynamics of the auction,” CSK CEO added.