The friendship of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina is well known and arguably one of the best in the cricketing world’s history. The duo shares a great bond and have enjoyed each other’s success on many occasions. Notably, Raina was an integral part of India’s 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy winning squad, which was headed by Dhoni. The two cricketers even took retirement from international cricket on the same day.
Raina was also there to celebrate Dhoni’s four Indian Premier League (IPL) triumphs with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) until he finally called his time on the event in 2022. While Dhoni got the tag of ‘Thala’ from Chennai fans, Raina being his deputy was hailed and acknowledged by the name of ‘Chinna Thala’.
Although there are many stories of great friendship moments between Raina and Dhoni, an untold one was recently revealed by the former Uttar Pradesh cricketer in a show where he told how wicket-keeper batter consulted him before dropping him from the playing eleven of CSK in IPL 2021.
Speaking on Jio Cinema, Raina said that Dhoni took permission from him before picking Robin Uthappa as his replacement in the matches towards the end of the event. He further revealed how the CSK skipper generously told him about their playing together for the franchise since 2008 and his desire to win the tournament.
“When MS Dhoni and I talked, I suggested him that ‘you should try Robin Uthappa’. He (Dhoni) took permission from me to play you and I said him that ‘he is the guy to give you the final, trust me’,” Raina told Uthappa on JioCinema.
“MS Dhoni said that ‘see we have played since 2008 but I want to win this season. Now, you tell me what to do’. I said ‘play Robin at number 3 and make sure he is in the playing XI till final. If you win, CSK will win. Whether I play or him, Robin and Raina are same’,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that Raina and Dhoni were part of the CSK franchise since the inaugural edition of the tournament. However, 2021 was the last season of the left-handed batter with the team. The Chennai-based side emerged as the champions in that edition, with Uthappa putting up a great show for the eventual champions.
