Former India international Suresh Raina is currently plying his trade in the Legends League Cricket (LLC) for the India Maharajas. He played an outstanding innings of 49 runs off 41 balls in the match against World Giants on Wednesday (March 15), and was the top-scorer for his side. Raina’s performance with the bat was brilliant and it reminded everyone of his glory days.
During the post-match press conference, Raina was asked about his comeback to the Indian Premier League (IPL). He responded to the query by taking a hilarious dig at former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi. Raina stated that unlike Afridi, he is not someone who makes several comebacks after announcing retirement, and that there are no chances of him returning to the IPL.
“Main Suresh Raina hoon. Main Shahid Afridi nahi hoon (laughs). Retirement le chuka hoon (I’m Suresh Raina, not Shahid Afridi. I’ve taken retirement),” he said leaving everyone in the room in splits.
Here’s the video:
‘Suresh Raina Hu, Shahid Afridi Nahin’
Hilarious Reply From Mr. IPL 😄@ImRaina #legendsleaguecricket #LLC2023 pic.twitter.com/GpV9uEa0wx
— Vaibhav Bhola 🇮🇳 (@VibhuBhola) March 15, 2023
Raina had announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, along with his former Indian teammate MS Dhoni, and has not played in the IPL since the 2021 season. He also announced his IPL retirement after going unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction.
As far as the match between Indian Maharajas and World Giants in concerned, the Harbhajan Singh-led team managed to score 136 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs, largely thanks to Raina’s contribution with the bat.
Brett Lee was the best bowler for the World Giants, picking up three wickets for just 18 runs. Despite losing seven wickets, World Giants chased down the target quite easily with Chris Gayle smashing 57 runs off 46 balls with nine fours and a six, while Shane Watson contributed 26 runs. The Giants managed to get over the line in the 19th over of the innings.
