CSK to retain Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo ahead of IPL 2021 – Report

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) reportedly have retained their senior batsman Suresh Raina ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

"Raina will definitely be a part of the CSK family. He is an integral member and there was never any doubt on him being retained," a BCCI source said, as reported by various Indian media organisations.

Before the start of the previous edition, which was moved from India to the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic, Raina had left the CSK due to personal reasons. That had attracted several speculations about issues between the three-time champions and Raina.

"It was his personal call to return from UAE and the management was clear that his space needed to be respected. We expect him to fire on all cylinders this time around," the source added.

The unnamed source also mentioned that while overseas players like Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo will continue to be associated with CSK, the team is not sure about Kedar Jadhav, Piyush Chawla, and MUrali Vijay.

"As for Kedar, Piyush and Vijay, we will have to see. It is a touch and go situation and a final call will be taken by the senior management before the final list is submitted to the BCCI today.

"Harbhajan has been released as you are aware and Watson has retired. Apart from that, don't see any big name missing out. (Dwayne) Bravo and (Faf) du Plessis will be with us," the source added.

Raina, who has played 193 matches in the IPL since 2008, has scored over 5,000 runs in the tournament. Having scored 4,527 runs in 164 matches for CSK, Raina is one of the most successful players of the MS Dhoni-led franchise. In 2020, Raina and Dhoni retirement from international cricket on the same day, but they are still considered a vital cog in the team. Without Raina, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first ever time last year, finishing seventh.

"As far as Suresh Raina is concerned, he is a great player who has done so much for CSK. We have a lot of respect for him. [We have] a lot of regard and affection for all that he has done. CSK will always stand by him," Srinivasan had said in an interview last year.

https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh/status/1351778962708389889

Meanwhile, CSK have parted ways with veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh ahead of the 2021 edition. "As my contract comes to an end with @ChennaiIPL, playing for this team was a great experience..beautiful memories made &some great friends which I will remember fondly for years to come..Thank you @ChennaiIPL, management, staff and fans for a wonderful 2years.. All the best…" he tweeted today.