Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend Suresh Raina has opened up on the much-talked-about controversy surrounding his withdrawal from the IPL 2020 season in the UAE. Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, Raina had travelled to the country with the rest of the players but pulled out before the start of the season, citing personal reasons and COVID-19 bio-bubble arrangements. There were different theories regarding Raina's decision to pull out. One such rumour claimed that Raina left the bio-bubble after he was denied a hotel room with a balcony.
Addressing the rumours, Raina revealed that he pulled out of the tournament to spent time with his father and close ones after his relatives were killed in Punjab.
"There was bereavement in the family, I went to Punjab. In my uncle's family, there were deaths. The kaccha gang..who come with oil on their body. A group of gangsters killed the entire family, my grandmother was also there. It happened in Pathankot. So I went there. But there was a bio-bubble in the IPL, where you couldn't return. My father was very upset. When the Kachche gang did what they did, my entire family was in stress. I thought cricket came next, I could play anytime, first, my family was important," Raina said during an interaction on Lallantop.
Raina further revealed that the situation back home was chaotic and the ongoing pandemic made the situation even worse.
"Yes, I told this to MS Dhoni and the team management. Family comes first. Then I returned, we played the 2021 season. We won the trophy. But the previous year, the family was in chaos. They were all in depression already due to Covid-19 and then this happened. I thought I should go home and be with my family," he added.
After missing the 2020 season, Raina returned to CSK the next year and helped them win the title.
It turned out to be his last season as later that year, he decided to announce his retirement from all formats of the game.