Sangakkara explains why ‘absolute legend’ Suresh Raina went unsold in auction

The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League begins on March 26 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings taking on the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai.

This year’s IPL will see two franchises featuring in the tournament – the Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans. However, the IPL this year will also be without some of the star players who have ruled the roost for many years throughout the tournament’s history, and former CSK batter Suresh Raina is one of them.

Raina, fondly known as ‘Mr IPL’, didn’t find any buyers in the mega auction which preceded the 2022 edition. Raina had been with the Super Kings since the inaugural season of the tournament in 2008 (barring the 2016 and 2017 editions when the franchise was banned); however, a poor run in the previous season, coupled with a lack of playing experience in India’s domestic circuit meant Raina went unsold in the auction.

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara, who is currently the Director of Cricket for the Rajasthan Royals, spoke in detail about Raina going unsold as he talked about the auction dynamics.

“There are different ways to look at it. As the years go by, players change and reputations are also made new by younger players,” Kumar Sangakkara said during a conversation on ‘Red Bull Cricket’ on Clubhouse.

Further explaining Raina’s case, Sangakkara said that sometimes, a player is “not suited for that season.”

“In the case of Suresh Raina, his reputation is unbelievable in IPL cricket. He has been an absolute legend, one of the best and top-most performers season after season. When you go into granular detail, perhaps the player is not suited for that season. It takes nothing away from the player being one of the best, or the player being of absolutely high quality and it is something that analysts, coaches, and owners look for,” said Sangakkara.