Perhaps one of the biggest shocks from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction was that ‘Mr. IPL’ Suresh Raina remained unsold as none of the teams put in even a single bid for the former Indian international.
Even an emotion heavy franchise like Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who showed their intent of going back for their former players in the mega auction distanced themselves from Raina.
Soon after, there appeared to be a glimmer of hope as reports claimed that Raina could be roped in by Gujarat Titans as contingency plans after Jason Roy pulled out of the upcoming IPL campaign.
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The England opener cited bio-bubble fatigue as the reason for him backing out at the last moment after he was bought by Gujarat Titans for a price of INR 2 crores. Subsequently, various reports emerged that the Ahmedabad based franchise could rope in Raina as a replacement.
However, as per the latest reports, the southpaw is not even being considered as a replacement for Jason Roy as per sources close to the developments.
Despite being IPL’s fourth-highest run-scorer, Raina, who has 5528 runs under his belt could find no suitors for himself and it seems that fans may not get to see the veteran player in IPL ever again.
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The 35-year-old had a base price of INR 2 crores, which could have probably hampered any potential buyers from taking a chance on Raina. With him not getting any younger, all of the franchises distanced themselves from the former Indian player.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans, who will be led by Hardik Pandya in the debut IPL campaign, had opted to retain the likes of Shubman Gill and Rashid Khan as their top three picks ahead of the mega auction.
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