Suresh Raina, a celebrated ex-cricketer from Team India, is presently playing in Qatar as a member of the India Maharajas squad in the Legends League Cricket Masters. Several former India cricket players, such as Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Murali Vijay, among others, are also competing in this tournament, which includes two additional teams, namely Asia Lions and World Giants.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday, the Maharajas experienced a close defeat against the Giants, which marked their third loss out of four games and placed them in third position on the leaderboard. Raina was among the standout performers for the India Maharajas in the game.
He played a smashing knock of 49 runs off just 41 deliveries and emerged as the highest run-scorer for the team, which reached a total of 136/9 in 20 overs. In addition, Raina bowled a solitary over and took a wicket, dismissing the dangerous Chris Gayle at 57 runs.
Post the game, the left-handed batsman attended a press conference where he discussed the match. His impressive performance led to a question about his potential return to professional cricket.
Nonetheless, the 36-year-old gave a rather brutal response. When asked about a potential return to professional cricket, he replied, “I am Suresh Raina, not Shahid Afridi! I have already retired,” leaving the reporters in peals of laughter.
Raina had announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020, shortly after former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement. The left-handed batsman continued to play for Chennai Super Kings for two more seasons until the franchise released him before the 2022 edition.