IPL 2020 | N Srinivasan clarifies Suresh Raina comments; says club will always stand by southpaw
A day after publicly expressing his frustration over talisman Suresh Raina abandoning his teammates, CSK owner N Srinivasan has clarified that his comments were taken out of context. Srinivasan labelled Raina âphenomenalâ and stated that the southpaw has the full backing of the CSK franchise.
In what has come as the latest twist to the Suresh Raina-Chennai Super Kings saga, franchise owner N Srinivasan has backtracked on the public statement he issued on Sunday and has clarified that the club will always stand by the Uttar Pradesh batsman. Srinivasan, on Sunday, publicly lashed out at Raina and suggested that the southpaw played petty politics in the midst of the CSK side quarantining in Dubai but has now claimed that his comments were taken out of context and has stated that it is important for people to give Raina the space he deserves.
"The franchise will always stand by him and he has our complete support during these times of distress," Srinivasan told TOI.
"These boys, theyâre family. Theyâve been family for over a decade now. When I said âcricketers are like prima donnasâ, it wasnât in a negative sense. A prima donna is the lead singer in an opera. Similarly, cricketers are always at the forefront of an exercise like this."
"It is important to understand what Suresh is going through right now and give him space.â
Raina has been a CSK loyalist for the entirety of his IPL career, barring the two seasons in which the club were banned from the competition, and Srinivasan acknowledged the contributions of the 33-year-old, who amassed over 400 runs in each of the first six editions of the IPL.Â
"His (Rainaâs) contribution to the CSK franchise has been phenomenal through the years.â
Raina is, however, yet to make an official comment on any of the speculation that has surrounded his untimely exit from the UAE. While some rumours have suggested that it was the COVID fear which forced Raina to fly back home, several other reports have indicated that the southpaw took the decision to head back to India due to the tragic demise of a family member.Â