'I will not play the 2022 edition if MS Dhoni doesn't' -Suresh Raina's old interview resurfaces after he goes unsold in mega auction

In what came as an absolute shocker, Suresh Raina went unsold in the recently concluded mega auction. The fact that an Indian T20 league legend like him found no bidders was disheartening, to say the least. Is it to be noted that the aggressive batter is the league's fourth-highest run-scorer in history and has won the title with Chennai on four occasions.

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However, he was still not purchased by Chennai this time around. Despite them buying back their seasoned campaigners such as Dwyane Bravo and Ambati Rayudu, they didn't bid for Raina. Thus, the fans of the 35-year-old were left heartbroken.

Recently, an old interview of Raina went viral on social media. In the video, he said that if Dhoni doesn't play the next season, then even he wouldn't. He also promised that he will try his best to convince the keeper-batter to play in 2022 if Chennai wins the 2021 edition.

Why yrr 😭💔#SureshRaina | @ImRaina pic.twitter.com/FtGQuIO45o

— ABHISHEK BAMNAVAT 🇮🇳 (@CoverDrive001) February 13, 2022

Suresh Raina has been one of the most consistent performers for Chennai: Chennai CEO Kasi Vishwanath

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As a matter of fact, he has been synonymous with the franchise, and has earned the nickname "Chinna Thala" as well. His bromance with the "Thala" MS Dhoni is pretty popular as well. Both of them had announced their retirement from international cricket on the same day.

Another important point to be noted is the fact that Raina had a poor season with the bat in the 2021 edition. He had scored just 160 runs in 12 games and was left out of the playing XI during the playoffs as well. Nevertheless, the CEO of the Chennai-based franchise Kasi Vishwanath recently spoke about their decision to not buy back Raina.

"Raina has been one of the most consistent performers for Chennai for the last 12 years. Of course, it was very difficult for us, no to have Raina but at the same time, you should also understand that the team composition depends on the form and kind of which any team would like to have so that’s one of the reasons why we thought he may not fit into this team," said Kasi Vishwanath in a video shared by the Dhoni-led side.