IPL 2020 | Suresh Raina will be sorely missed by CSK this season, posts Shane Watson
Shane Watson, in a heartwarming video on Saturday, revealed that Suresh Raina will be sorely missed by CSK and the IPL this season while adding that his well-being is the most important thing. Watson also added that he will do everything in his stride to help the tournament to go ahead.
Just three weeks before the kick-off of the 2020 season of the IPL, CSK’s stalwart batsman Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament, citing personal reasons. Raina has been CSK’s pillar of strength, with 4527 runs from 164 IPL games for the Chennai-based franchise in the tournament. While the reason still remains unknown, teammate Shane Watson posted a heartwarming video on Saturday, where he expressed that the franchise would sorely miss the southpaw.Â
Watson, who was picked by the management ahead of their comeback IPL, helped the franchise win the competition for the third time, with a hundred against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL final. Ever since the right-hander has been one of the first names on the team sheet in the tournament, with the Australian nearly taking the team home against Mumbai Indians in the 2019 IPL final.Â
“Hello everyone, I wake up this morning with a very bad news that Suresh Raina is heading back to India for personal reasons. My heart goes to you. I hope you are doing okay, mate,” Watson said on his Instagram video, reported Hindustan Times.Â
“You are going to be sorely missed from CSK. You have been with the CSK from the start, you are the heartbeat of the team. You are also going to be missed by IPL tournament as well. You are such a star of IPL. But, most importantly, is your well-being and hope you are going okay,” the right-handed batsman added.
On the other hand, in regards to the tournament, the Australian all-rounder added that every player will try their level best to do what they can to stay safe, limiting the spread of the virus. On a personal level too, the right-hander acknowledged that he would do everything in his limits to make sure that the tournament goes ahead as per schedule.Â
“It’s been an interesting time to be in lockdown for another seven days, but this is the ever-changing world that we live in. We all have to do what we possibly can to stay safe, to limit the spread of Covid-19 throughout the IPL tournament because it is the best T20 tournament in the world.
“All players, all fans, want it to go ahead. I’ll do whatever we have to do to make sure that IPL goes ahead,” the former Australia batsman added.