"We have seen some foreign players who have played IPL till 40" - Irfan Pathan on Suresh Raina going unsold at IPL 2022 auction
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Suresh Raina deserved a team at the IPL 2022 auction that took place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Raina was released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the mega auction. The 35-year-old registered himself at a reserve price of Rs2 crore. However, he went unsold on day 1, and didn't return during the accelerated auction as well.
Fans expressed disappointment after the veteran went unsold. Echoing the same sentiments, Pathan feels Raina should have been picked up by one of the teams. Taking to Twitter, the cricketer-turned-commentator wrote:
"Still think Raina could have been pushed. We have seen some foreign players who have played IPL till 40.Raina is 35! One bad season. #MrIPL."
Still think Raina could have been pushed. We have seen some foreign players who have played IPL till 40.Raina is 35! One bad season. #MrIPL
Meanwhile, this is the first time since the start of IPL 2008 that no franchise showed any interest in Raina, who is also known as Mr. IPL. After the auction was done and dusted, Chennai Super Kings thanked the left-hander for his service all these years.
"Super Thanks for all the Yellove memories, Chinna Thala!" CSK wrote on Twitter.
Super Thanks for all the Yellove memories, Chinna Thala!🥺
#SuperkingForever 🦁 https://t.co/RgyjXHyl9l
Suresh Raina's record in IPL
Suresh Raina was part of the Chennai Super Kings squad that won their fourth IPL title last year. However, he had a poor campaign, managing 160 runs in 12 games at an average of 17.77 and a strike rate of 125.
Overall, he has amassed 5528 runs in 205 IPL games at an average of 32.51 and a strike rate of 136.76, including one hundred and 39 fifties. He is the fourth-highest run-scorer in tournament history, after Virat Kohli (6283), Shikhar Dhawan (5784) and Rohit Sharma (5611).
Raina was a part of Chennai Super Kings since 2008 till he has released this year. He only played for Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 when the four-time winners were banned from the competition.