August 15, 2020, produced one of the most extraordinary evenings in Indian cricket. At 7:29 pm, MS Dhoni quietly announced through an Instagram post that his international career was over. Barely minutes later, another announcement followed from Suresh Raina, bringing the curtain down on an India career that had stretched across 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is.
The timing inevitably led to the belief that Raina, then only 33, had simply decided to follow his long-time India and Chennai Super Kings captain into international retirement. Six years later, however, Raina has revealed that even Dhoni himself did not see his decision coming. Speaking to former India opener Aakash Chopra on his YouTube show Baith & Bol, Raina recalled walking into the dressing room and informing Dhoni that he had also called time on his international career. Dhoni’s immediate reaction was one of surprise.
Raina recalls the moment he told Dhoni about retirement
“It’s the game, right? You live for it as a player. You do so much for the country, parents sacrificed so much, but at that moment I felt this is the best. Because all these things happen… you wanted to spend time with your family,” Raina told Chopra. “At that point, whether I was 32 or 33, whatever the age was… But in the dressing room when he did it, I went in and said, ‘It’s done.’ He goes, ‘Ye kya kiya tune’ (‘What did you just do?’).”
Dhoni and Raina were together with CSK at the time, preparing for the 2020 IPL season, which had been moved to the UAE because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Raina had last represented India in an ODI against England in July 2018 and had subsequently missed out on selection for the 2019 ODI World Cup. Despite his India career having effectively stalled for two years before the formal announcement, Raina said he has never regretted deciding to walk away.
“No regret, to be very honest. I think I am fortunate I represented my state, my country… and whatever is written, happens. Why should I have any regrets now, Aakash?” he said. “There was one roof, five brothers, one sister, dad was in the army, the family had a completely different background… now we stay in the best hotels, eat the best food.”
Raina added that the opportunities cricket had given him made it difficult to look back at his career with disappointment. “Because all those things… you don’t regret playing cricket. No, I didn’t have any, to be honest. No regret, completely unbothered,” he said.
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Why Raina’s bond with Dhoni went beyond cricket
The former India batter also opened up about why his relationship with Dhoni became much more than a conventional captain-player association. Raina recalled how Dhoni, despite having established himself higher up the batting order earlier in his career, was willing to move himself down and provide greater opportunities to players such as Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
“If someone sacrificed so much for you… there should be a capacity to give back,” Raina said while explaining the loyalty he felt towards his former captain. Their partnership stretched far beyond international cricket. Raina became one of Dhoni’s most trusted players at CSK and played a central role in the franchise’s rise during the early years of the IPL.
Raina continued playing in the IPL after his international retirement and was part of CSK’s title-winning campaign in 2021. He eventually announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket in September 2022. But looking back at the decision that surprised even Dhoni on that August evening in 2020, Raina remains emphatic: there are no regrets.