IPL 2021: Suresh Raina, Chennai Super Kings training camp: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stalwart Suresh Raina has hit the training grounds to get ready for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL). The left-handed batsman shared his last training video and is now set to join MS Dhoni and Co for the training camp. InsideSport had earlier reported that Raina will join CSK from March 24.
Raina announced his retirement from international cricket last year, at the same time as his long-time CSK captain and teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, he couldn’t partake in the previous season of the T20 league due to ‘personal reasons.’
Now, with the tournament returning to Indian shores, Raina is all set to play a key role in the three-time IPL champions’ campaign. Last season saw the Chennai teams experience a rare failure as they finished at the no. 7 spot in the team rankings. While Raina’s absence alone cannot explain the fall in their fortunes, his lack of presence in the middle order did prove costly.
The former Indian international has been posting videos of his practice sessions at the ground in Ghaziabad on both his Twitter and Instagram profiles. On Monday, he posted another video on Instagram which shows him working out in a gym.
The 2011 World Cup winner wrote: “Last session before joining the team! All geared up for IPL. Can’t wait!”
During his time away from cricket, Raina has been making quite a splash on television. He appeared on an episode of ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ last year and has been featured as a regular member of the case on a music show recently.
IPL 2021: CSK’s Cheteshwar Pujara also starts training
One of the new teammates that he would have in this year’s IPL, Cheteshwar Pujara, has also been updating the fans about his training for the premier T20 league that begins on April 9. He too took to Instagram to share a GIF from a training session where he is, apparently, hitting a big shot. The star of India’s Test team had the hashtags ‘#yellove’ and ‘#ipl2021’ written on the GIF.
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Pujara hasn’t yet made a big mark in IPL. His previous stints in the T20 tournament weren’t successful. This season is an opportunity to correct that.