‘Dhoni took my permission to replace…’: This cricketer makes strong statement on getting kicked out of team

The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings made the difficult choice to bench Suresh Raina in favour of Robin Uthappa near the end of the IPL 2021. Uthappa, who had just joined CSK, got his chance in a game against the Delhi Capitals. Dhoni had brought up Raina’s injury during the coin toss at the moment. The player was never a part of CSK’s starting lineup for the remainder of the season, though. In the history of the competition, CSK won the IPL title five times. 

Chennai Super Kings have tied Mumbai Indians for top spot after winning their fifth IPL title. They defeated Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League 2023 championship game.

“Chinna Thala”, the former star player for CSK named Suresh Raina, recently spoke about CSK’s successes and the 2021 championship season, which Raina felt wasn’t the best for him personally.

In 2021, Chennai won the IPL for the fourth time, however Raina was benched midseason because of his subpar performance at number 3. In the 14th season, Raina was replaced by Robin Uthappa after amassing 230 runs in 12 games. Uthappa played match-winning knocks in CSK’s remaining games but wasn’t purchased in the 2022 auctions.

“MS Dhoni took my permission to replace me with Robin Uthappa. I told him to play Uthappa as had worked hard to deserve a place in the team,” Crictoday reported Suresh Raina. 

The 36-year-old player disclosed that CSK captain MS Dhoni requested his consent before replacing him with Robin.