"Players had no idea what was going on"- Suresh Raina on CSK's ban for spot-fixing scandal during IPL 2013

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina is a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend and tasted incredible success with the franchise. However, along with the great moments, the one dark period that he witnessed was the spot-fixing scandal back in IPL 2013.

Raina claimed that the Chennai players had no clue about the spot-fixing and betting and believed none of the cricketers from the Men in Yellow were involved in the scandal. A top CSK official, Gurunath Meiyappan, was arrested on the day of the IPL 2013 final between CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI) with the charges.

Speaking to The Lallantop, here's what Suresh Raina had to say about the whole controversy:

"We were players and had no idea what was going on. Players can't do anything, even if they want to, because the anti-corruption system is very strong. You can't even think about it. You'd be in jail if you do something like that."

Chennai Super Kings had to pay a heavy price because of the scandal as they were banned from the IPL for two seasons - the 2016 and 2017 editions. The Justice Lodha Committee found Meiyappan guilty of the charges and handed him a lifetime ban from attending any games arranged by the BCCI.

Suresh Raina on pulling out of IPL 2020

There had also been a lot of speculation around why Suresh Raina had left CSK's IPL 2020 camp to return to India. Many even claimed that Raina was upset for not getting a room as lavish as that of Dhoni's.

However, the former cricketer rubbished these rumors and talked about the real reason for his not featuring in IPL 2020.

"I had gone to Punjab because there was a death in my family. My uncle's whole family was killed by a gang. There was a bio bubble, so couldn't join the team again. I thought that it's okay, I would play some other time in the future; family is more important. I had also informed the owner and Dhoni bhai about it," said Raina.

Raina returned to the CSK setup for the IPL 2021 season and won the fourth IPL title with the Men in Yellow.