Indian International cricketer who occasionally stepped in as the captain for the men in blue announced retirement from IPL and domestic cricket on Tuesday. However, he will be playing the upcoming road safety week series and will also be seen in T20 leagues around the world. The southpaw was last featured in IPL 2021 from CSK after the UAE edition. This year he was not retained by his team nor was selected by others. Raina announced his decision on Twitter and he thanked the likes of Chennai Super Kings, Rajeev Shukla, BCCI and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association.
“It has been an absolute honour to represent my country & state UP. I would like to announce my retirement from all formats of Cricket. I would like to thank @BCCI, @UPCACricket, @ChennaiIPL, @ShuklaRajiv sir & all my fans for their support and unwavering faith in my abilities,” Raina tweeted on Tuesday (September 6).
The left handed cricketer had retired from international cricket in 2020. It is worth mentioning that Raina’s retirement in 2020 had come minutes after Dhoni said “consider me retired” on his Instagram page. “It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @mahi7781 . With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind,” Raina had posted on his Instagram page.
The 35-year-old is among the few who scored centuries across formats and he played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20 Internationals with nearly 8000 international runs.