With Suresh Raina leaving the Chennai Super Kings camp in Dubai to be back with his young family, the team is likely to get a similar replacement batsman. The management has been supportive of the player’s decision though it knows chances in the tournament have taken a massive hit. Everything in the team revolves around captain MS Dhoni, and his batting plans revolve around Raina.
How do you replace batsman Virat Kohli in RCB or Rohit Sharma in Mumbai Indians? Raina’s value for CSK is no less.
In nine of the 12 seasons, Raina has aggregated 400-plus runs. His lowest return was 374 runs, in 2015. With an aggregate of 5,368 runs, he is the tournament’s second highest run-scorer. Averaging 33.34, he has hit 38 fifties and one century, with an overall strike rate of 137.14.
So vital to the team’s plans, CSK has retained Raina in every cycle. In 2018, CSK, returning from a two-year ban, got him at the players’ auction for R11 crore.
As a young batsman in the first IPL he made a mark by taking apart the pace bowlers with a big stride forward and booming shots over cover. Spinners didn’t bother him much anyway; he worked them around before launching into big hits.
“We haven’t discussed it as yet (on getting a replacement),” Chennai CEO KS Viswanathan said of Riana, the first to aggregate 5,000 runs in IPL before Kohli surpassed him.
{{/usCountry}}“We haven’t discussed it as yet (on getting a replacement),” Chennai CEO KS Viswanathan said of Riana, the first to aggregate 5,000 runs in IPL before Kohli surpassed him.
{{/usCountry}}India Cements chief N Srinivasan said Raina left the CSK team hotel in a huff, unhappy about the room provided to him. The former BCCI president also said CSK skipper MS Dhoni was in control of the situation.
“Cricketers are like prima donnas… like the temperamental actors of the olden days. Chennai Super Kings have always been like a family and all senior players have learnt to co-exist,” Srinivasan told Outlook on Sunday. “My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything … sometimes success gets into your head.”
Dhoni was not too worried. “I spoke to MS and he has assured me that even if the numbers go up, there was nothing to worry. He spoke to the players through a zoom call and asked them to remain safe. You really don’t know who is a passive carrier,” Srinivasan told Outlook.
Raina’s exit could help young batsman, Ruturaj Gaikwad, get a chance, he said. The India A player has tested positive for Covid. “He is an outstanding batsman and will get a chance now. Ruturaj can become the star of the show, you knows?
“The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money (he was bought for R11 crore/season) he is going to lose.”
RAINA’S VALUE
For ex-India batsman Pravin Amre, a regular IPL coaching staff member, Raina is a kind of player who makes the core of a team. “In IPL you get many players with big price tags, but getting a player who plays from the heart for the team is rare. When I was Mumbai Ranji team coach, I could make out… sometimes you don’t get that in IPL. Raina played from the heart for CSK,” said Amre, Delhi Capitals’ assistant coach last season who is part of the Mumbai Indians’ talent hunt team.
“CSK has been so consistent in qualifying for the play-offs and Raina has played a great role in it,” Amre said, highlighting his consistency. Thrice winners CSK have qualified for the play-off in each of their 10 seasons, ending runners-up five times.
KOHLI RESUMES
Kohli needed his first batting session for five months on Saturday in the UAE to banish any concerns returning to the nets after five months. “I was pretty scared, I haven’t picked up a bat for five months, but yeah, it came out better than I thought,” the RCB skipper said in a video interview on the team’s website. “I’ve trained quite a bit during the lockdown, so I’m feeling quite fit; that helps. The body is light, you can react better. So, I feel like I have more time on the ball. That is a big plus.”
Like Kohli’s team, others too know they must adapt to succeed. And maintaining a secure bio-bubble for eight teams will be a far bigger challenge than for a bilateral series. Like Kohli, there are players who are indispensable to execute team tactics. 
MI can’t replace Jasprit Bumrah or Rohit. For RCB, AB de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal too are vital. In Kings XI Punjab, it is KL Rahul; Kolkata Knight Riders would be extra protective about Andre Russell while it is Ben Stokes for Rajasthan Royals. If a successful captain is also the best player, his value goes up. Sunrisers Hyderabad will be half the side without David Warner, like Dhoni and Rohit for their teams.
Teams who have replacements for marquee players will be better served. For Delhi Capitals, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are the stars, but they have captaincy options in R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane.
This season is more about minimising losses than about winning. At one point it looked like there won’t be IPL at all this year. Winning thus will be a big bonus.