Suresh Raina Reveals MS Dhoni's Stunning Reaction To His Retirement : "Ye Kya Kiya Tune"

It was a decision that stunned everybody. Minutes after MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, Suresh Raina also declared that his time was up. Raina was only 33 then, and his decision stunned all. At that time, Raina had played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is. Now, Raina has revealed Dhoni's reaction to his retirement. "It's the game, right? You live for it as a player. You do so much for the country, parents sacrificed so much, but at that moment I felt this is the best. Because all these things happen... you wanted to spend time with your family," Raina said on a podcast with Aakash Chopra.

"At that point, whether I was 32 or 33, whatever the age was... But in the dressing room, when he did it, I went in and said, 'It's done.' He goes, 'Ye kya kiya tune' ('What did you just do?')."

Dhoni and Raina were with CSK at the time, getting ready for the 2020 IPL season. Raina admitted that he has never regretted his decision.

"No regret, to be very honest. I think I am fortunate to have represented my state, my country... and whatever is written, happens. Why should I have any regrets now, Aakash?" he said.

"There was one roof, five brothers, one sister, my dad was in the army, the family had a completely different background... now we stay in the best hotels, eat the best food."

Raina spoke about his maiden T20I century and the match he would like to play again if given a chance. Speaking on choosing between his maiden T20I ton or the 25-ball 87 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2014, he picked his maiden T20I century for India in the 2010 T20 World Cup against South Africa, which made him the first Indian to score a century across all formats.

Speaking about his favourite knock, he said, "The T20I century for India. I was the first player to score a hundred (for India in T20Is) and we won that game too. That was special. In the IPL, there are many knocks, but scoring that first hundred for India, that was special."

Against South Africa in the 2010 T20 World Cup, he smashed 101 off 60 balls, with nine fours and five sixes, guiding India to victory.

On his favourite knock alongside his long-time batting partner and close friend MS Dhoni, he recalled his century against Zimbabwe in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Chasing 287, India were 92/4, but Raina (110* off 104 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) put on a 196-run stand with Dhoni (85* off 76 balls, with eight fours and two sixes), winning the game for India.

"The pressure one was against Zimbabwe when I scored a hundred, and he batted with me. We were chasing and were four down. It was a pressure game, as we were going to qualify if we won that," he said.

On the game he would go back and play again, he chose the semifinal of the 2015 World Cup against Australia, which India lost by 95 runs while chasing 329. Raina could score just seven runs, and the team failed to build on a 76-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan for the first wicket.

"The 2015 World Cup semifinal. I felt I was batting well, but I got out. We had started well. I feel we could have batted better, as the dream was to win back-to-back World Cups. I feel we gave away too many runs. If I could reverse that, I would want to go back and score 80-90 not out. We could have chased it," he said.

Raina amassed 5,615 runs from 226 ODIs at an average of 35.31. His best score in the format is 116*. He scored five centuries and 36 half-centuries in the format.

In 78 T20Is, the left-hander scored 1,605 runs at an average of 29.18. His best score in the format is 101. Raina scored one century and five half-centuries in the format.

Across 31 innings in 18 Tests, Raina scored 768 runs at an average of 26.48. His best score in the longer format is 120. He scored one century and seven half-centuries in the format

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Topics mentioned in this article

MS Dhoni Suresh Raina India Cricket Team Chennai Super Kings Cricket