When Suresh Raina Revealed Why He And MS Dhoni Retired Together

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina during a T20I match in 2015 (AP)MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina during a T20I match in 2015 (AP)

Longtime national teammates MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina stunned the entire cricketing spectrum by announcing their retirements from international cricket on August 15, 2020; in the space of a few minutes no less.

Both Raina and Dhoni, who also made their respective Team India debuts within a year back in 2004-05, spent much of their IPL journeys together for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise as teammates until the former made his exit from all forms of cricket in late 2022.

While Dhoni rarely gives out interviews, Raina once revealed the actual reason why the two cricketers chose August 15 as their retirement date and why they decided to quit international cricket together.


When Raina revealed why he retired with MS Dhoni

While speaking with Dainik Jagran after announcing his exit from international cricket, Suresh Raina revealed that he and MS Dhoni had already made their minds of retiring together on August 15 for a very specific reason. 

“We had already made up our minds to retire on August 15 (2020). 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," Suresh had said.

Following his exit from international cricket, Suresh Raina played the IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons for CSK, before he was released by the franchise ahead of the 2022 mega auction. Much to everyone’s surprise, the CSK management did not make a bid for the cricketer during the bidding event.

MS Dhoni, on the other hand, continues to lead the CSK and even captained them to their fifth title triumph back in IPL 2023.

Apart from IPL, both Dhoni and Raina were part of India’s World Cup 2011 triumphant run at home.