Both Suresh Raina and former skipper MS Dhoni announced their retirement from international cricket on Saturday, 15 August. First it was Dhoni who shocked the nation with his short two-line Instagram post and then Raina posted a picture where he’s sitting with Dhoni and his CSK team-mates, quoting it -“I choose to join you (Dhoni) in this journey”.
In an exclusive interview to Dainik Jagran, Raina said that he knew that Dhoni would announce his retirement after reaching Chennai, so he was mentally prepared. The Indian Express had reported how at a party last year Dhoni had told one of his friends that he won’t be playing beyond the 2020 T20 World Cup but will be available for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
“We had already made up our minds to retire on Saturday (August 15). Dhoni’s jersey number is 7 and mine is 3 – put it together and it makes 73. And on August 15, India completed 73 years of independence, so there couldn’t have been a better day,” Raina told the publication.
Chennai Super Kings’ Twitter handle had posted a video from the evening when the players made their announcement and an emotional Raina can be seen giving MS Dhoni a hug before they walk together towards the team bus after the practise session.
“After announcing our retirement, we hugged and cried a lot. I, Piyush, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Karn sat together after that, talked about our careers and our relationship. We partied during the night,” Raina revealed.
Raina announced his retirement on August 15th via a social media post and then informed the BCCI a day later on August 16. However, Dhoni followed protocol and informed the Indian cricket board before announcing his retirement at 19:29 hours on Independence Day.
