Suresh Raina has been among the most consistent players in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Known for always keeping himself fit and never missing any matches in the tournament for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the left-handed batsman decided to skip IPL 2020 due to personal reasons which remained undisclosed. In his absence, the CSK side struggled and could only manage a 7th-placed finish.
CSK lacked teeth in the middle-order and were unable to accelerate in their batting displays and their famed approach of taking chases deep did not seem to work for once. With the 34-year-old Raina now back in the side, CSK would want to make it known that the last season was merely an exception and that their consistency in the tournament would shine through in 2021 and the subsequent seasons as well.
Chennai Super Kings refuse to name Suresh Raina as vice-captain
With Suresh Raina back, it was expected that he would be automatically reinstated as captain. However, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan on being asked by Cricbuzz about the same merely said, “We’ll name the vice-captain closer to the tournament,” meaning that Raina could not be the vice-captain in the tournament, judging by the reluctance to confirm the same.
The other candidate for vice-captain would be Ravindra Jadeja who is nursing an injury he suffered during India’s successful tour of Australia. He is expected to be back for the Men in Yellow and Viswanathan confirmed the same saying, “He looks in good shape and we are hopeful he will be available from the first game.” An outside candidate for the role could be former South African captain Faf du Plessis.
CSK will hope to notch up a win and get their campaign up and running on April 10 with their opening match against Delhi Capitals.
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