“Always heart to heart!” – Suresh Raina’s heartwarming MS Dhoni post ahead of IPL 2021
Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni are known to share a close bond. The duo played for India for many years and have also shared the dressing room at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for more than a decade.
Suresh Raina recently entered CSK’s bubble ahead of IPL 2021. The stylish left-hander posted a picture of himself with MS Dhoni during a CSK practice session.
Posting the picture, Suresh Raina wrote that the duo may not always see eye to eye but have always shared a heart-to-heart connection.
Hours after Suresh Raina shared the picture on social media, CSK posted a video of the duo hitting it out in the nets.
Suresh Raina has had a distinguished IPL career
Suresh Raina has had a stellar IPL career. He is the first player to score 5000 runs in the competition. Only Indian captain Virat Kohli is ahead of the left-hander in the tournament's all-time run-scoring charts.
Raina holds the record for most catches (102) by an outfield player in the IPL. He is the first Indian player to hit 100 sixes in the T20 competition. Incidentally, Suresh Raina is the only player in IPL history to score at least 400 runs in seven consecutive seasons (2008 to 2014).
CSK are yet to finalise a deputy for MS Dhoni, with IPL 2021 just days away. Although Suresh Raina has held that position over the years, the franchise is yet to officially confirm their vice-captain ahead of the 2021 edition of the competition.
Although there were reports of a rift between Suresh Raina and CSK, he was retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 auction.
Suresh Raina opted out of IPL 2020 last season due to personal reasons. In his absence, CSK struggled with their top-order combinations and missed out on the IPL playoffs for the first time. Raina will now look to make the no. 3 slot his own again.
CSK begin their IPL 2021 campaign against Delhi Capitals on April 10.