Suresh Raina to make his comeback to cricket; joins exclusive cricket league
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn't allow Indian players to take any part in the overseas cricket league if they have any kind of connection with the board. That is why we often see that Indian players don't play much in overseas leagues.
Former Indian star Suresh Raina has signed for Deccan Gladiators for the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2022. Notably, the southpaw announced his retirement from all forms of cricket earlier this year. Thus, after retiring from all forms, he makes himself available to play in other leagues outside India.
The announcement of Raina's inclusion was made by the official Twitter handle of the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2022. They tweeted, "World Cup winner @ImRaina has signed for the @TeamDGladiators One of India's all-time finest white-ball players, Raina will line up in the #AbuDhabiT10 for the first time and we can't wait."
World Cup winner @ImRaina has signed for the @TeamDGladiators 🙌🇮🇳
— T10 League (@T10League) November 1, 2022
One of India's all time finest white-ball players, Raina will line up in the #AbuDhabiT10 for the first time and we can't wait 🔥#InAbuDhabi #CricketsFastestFormat pic.twitter.com/7FGP5TWk89
The left-hander will join a team that already has some big names in their squad. The franchise already has the likes of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Roy, Odean Smith, Taskin Ahmed, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Raina played in the recently concluded second edition of the Road Safety World Series 2022 for India Legends. Notably, he retired from international cricket shortly after former Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement.
Raina has vast experience of playing in the shorter format. He has also led former IPL team Gujarat Lions in the 2016 and 2017 seasons and CSK as well. But the relationship between him and the Chennai Super Kings started to move in other directions from the 2020 season.
He didn't feature in many games in the 2021 season and then was released ahead of the 2022 season by the CSK. He went unsold in the 2022 auction, and CSK didn't even make any bids for him.
The sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 league is scheduled to start on November 23. The first match will see a clash between the Deccan Gladiators and Team Abu Dhabi.