‘Who knows if he decides to continue again’: Former India quick doesn’t rule our Suresh Raina’s retirement U-turn

RP Singh, who played with Suresh Raina for Uttar Pradesh, in India Under-19 and later the senior team, feels that even though Raina’s decision may have surprised a few, perhaps from batsman’s perspective, his days as an Indian cricketer were behind him.

Former India left-arm quick RP Singh reckons Suresh Raina’s decision to retire from international cricket could well stem from the left-handed batsman’s belief that his chances of making a comeback into the Indian team were over. Singh, who played with Raina for Uttar Pradesh, in India Under-19 and later the senior team, feels that even though Raina’s decision may have surprised a few, perhaps from batsman’s perspective, his days as an Indian cricketer were behind him.

File image of Suresh Raina.(PTI)

“With Raina, I have played a lot of cricket since junior days. As far as Raina’s retirement is concerned people are saying it is a little too early. I guess everyone has to think individually in terms of how physically fit one is, what chances of a comeback they have with regards to the Indian team. That must have played its part in Raina’s decision,” Singh told Cricket.com.

Raina’s retirement from international cricket last Saturday left many stunned. He was 33, having last played a match for India in 2018. Even though Raina had fallen down the pecking order as far as the Indian team is concerned, he is pretty much a hit in the IPL. He is the second-highest run-getter in the history of IPL with 5368 runs, along with being the tournament’s most capped player with 193 matches.

Singh admitted he was one of the few surprised by the timing of Raina’s decision. That said, it may be a long shot, but Singh doesn’t rule out a potential retirement U-turn by Raina provided he has a good IPL season with CSK in the UAE.

“Who knows if he gets 1000 runs in IPL and then decides to continue again. But when you take a decision to quit you think hard. Raina must have thought deeply about all the factors. Who knows he might explore overseas leagues like Yuvraj did in Canada. There is nothing wrong in that,” he said.

“What surprised me was the suddenness of his decision. Just recently, he was saying that he wanted to make a comeback in Test cricket. I heard him saying that in his interaction with Irfan Pathan.”