On Friday (August 14), Dhoni, Raina and other CSK players reached Chennai to attend a training camp. IPL 2020 will be held in the UAE from September 19 to November 10.
A day after arriving in the southern Indian city, Dhoni took to Instagram to call it quits. He had not played for India since July 2019 when the Virat Kohli-led side lost the World Cup semi-final to New Zealand in England.
Minutes later, Raina too joined Dhoni to bid adieu to international cricket. They both share a special bond. They will continue to play for CSK.
Revealing the events leading to their retirements and what followed, here is what the left-handed batsman Raina said.
“I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready,” Raina told Dainik Jagran.
“I, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma reached Ranchi on 14 August with the chartered plane, and picked up Mahi bhai and Monu Singh,” he added.
“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.”
Together, Dhoni and Raina won the World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013. Also, they won IPL twice with CSK.
Under Dhoni's captaincy, Raina played 153 ODIs.
In the IPL 2020 opener on September 19, CSK are likely to face Mumbai Indians (MI) in a repeat of last year's final.
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