Ms Dhoni and Suresh Raina Retire: It is the year 2020. When everyone in India was immersed in the celebration of Independence Day. Everyone was chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai, but at 7:29 pm everyone’s heart broke when former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.
His Instagram post broke the hearts of crores of fans. At the same time, the most surprising thing was that left-handed batsman Suresh Raina also announced his retirement shortly after Dhoni’s retirement. Both played for CSK, but the reason behind why both of them retired together was told by Raina himself. Let’s know about it.
When was the foundation of friendship laid?
Suresh Raina writes in his book (autobiography) that the foundation of his friendship with MS Dhoni was laid during the 2005 Dilip Trophy. In those days, a match was being played in Gwalior in February 2005, in which Raina was very impressed by Dhoni’s confidence, self-reliance and aggressive style of playing. After that, both of them were seen together in the camp organized in Bangalore for India’s senior team. With the passage of time, their friendship grew so much that they started sharing the room.
Why did MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina retire together on 15 August?
Actually, Suresh Raina had told in an interview last year that we (Dhoni) played so many matches together. I was fortunate to play with him for India and CSK. We got a lot of love. I come from Ghaziabad, Dhoni from Ranchi. I played for MS Dhoni, then I played for the country. This is the connection.
We have played so many finals, we have won the World Cup. He is a great leader and a great human being. We had already decided that we will retire on 15 August. Dhoni’s jersey number is 7 and mine is 3, which together makes 73 and India was celebrating 73 years of independence. So we thought there could be no better day for retirement than this.
Another shock just after a few hours
Indian cricket fans were not yet recovered from the news of ‘Thala’s’ retirement. Then a few hours later, Suresh Raina shared a message on Instagram saying that he is saying goodbye to cricket. He wrote, “MS Dhoni, it was an honor to play with you. My heart is filled with pride and I also decide to retire with you. Thank you India, Jai Hind.”
This was the cricket career of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni has played a total of 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20 matches for India. He has scored 4876 runs in Tests, 10773 runs in ODIs and 1617 runs in T20s. Dhoni scored 6 centuries and 33 half-centuries in ODIs, 10 centuries and 73 half-centuries in ODIs, while he scored 2 half-centuries in T20s. At the same time, Suresh Raina played a total of 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20 matches for India.
Most memorable partnership
Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have had many memorable partnerships in cricket, but during the 2015 ODI World Cup, they made headlines by making a partnership of 196 runs for the fifth wicket. In that match, India was chasing a target of 288 runs, but the team was struggling after losing 4 wickets at 92 runs. In such a situation, the pair of Dhoni and Raina took charge and made a record partnership of 196 runs. Dhoni and Raina ensured Team India’s victory by 6 wickets without losing their wickets.
Also Read – R Ashwin Reveals His Struggles to Gain MS Dhoni’s Approval