'Thank You for the memories' : Fans heartbroken as Suresh Raina goes unsold in mega auction

One of the biggest setbacks of the Indian T20 League mega auction was Suresh Raina getting unsold. Also known as Mr ITL, Suresh Raina owns several records in the Indian T20 League. He was an integral part of the Chennai setup since the tournament's inception. The left-hander played a big role in the team's title wins in 2010 and 2011 with 520 and 438 runs respectively. In 2018, he amassed 445 runs as the Men In Yellow went to win their third title. In August 2020, he announced his retirement alongside Chennai skipper MS Dhoni.

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Last year, he had a torrid time with the bat, scoring at an average of 17.77 with one fifty. However, his side went on to win the tournament without contributions with the bat. In a career spanning 205 games, he has accumulated 5528 runs, averaging 32.51 with one hundred and 39 fifties. Only players such as Virat Kohli (6283), Shikhar Dhawan (5784) and Rohit Sharma (5611) are ahead of him.

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The 2011 World Cup winner was released by the franchise last year as teams were allowed to retain a maximum of four players in the team. Meanwhile, Raina's fans were not amused by his omission and felt he could have still contributed a lot to the teams.

This is how Twitterati reacted

Sad that not a single team picked Mr. IPL Suresh Raina who has had an extraordinary performance in most IPL tournaments. Someone who has scored 400 runs in most IPLs till now. Many today are heartbroken to see him go unsold.

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 13, 2022

Whenever IPL's name will be taken , Suresh Raina's name will be the first to appear in an entire generation's mind. That's his greatest achievement. The streets won't forget him. Farewell legend 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/H3kT5vmOOO

— ` (@FourOverthrows) February 13, 2022

Suresh Raina 💔

— LetsOTT Global (@LetsOTT) February 13, 2022

If Someone ask you who is Suresh Raina Just show them this Picture 🔥#SureshRaina • @ImRaina pic.twitter.com/53ovzG1kOZ

— Suresh Raina FC™ (@CultRaina) February 12, 2022

Changing times. One of the greats of the IPL, Suresh Raina goes unsold.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 12, 2022

Nobody ruled the IPL better and longer than Suresh Raina. The streets will be never forget his contribution for CSK. pic.twitter.com/iPOuyaCdSZ

— ‘ (@Ashwin_tweetz) February 13, 2022

Sad not to see a single bid for Mr IPL @ImRaina in the first round.. @IPL #AuctionDay #IPLMegaAuction2022

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) February 12, 2022

Ab De Villiers, Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Suresh Raina, 4 one of the Greatest Ever - End of an Era. pic.twitter.com/DAfouX1C0k

— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) February 13, 2022

Then : BCCI to Virat Kohli

Now : CSK to Suresh Raina pic.twitter.com/cWJ5yxq64A

— V༙I༙R༙A༙T༙ S༙T༙A༙N༙ ᵛᵏ (@Viratstan_) February 13, 2022