Shahid Afridi is famous for cancelling his retirement for numerous times.
Suresh Raina's retirement decision came as a surprise for many. While MS Dhoni was on the verge of retirement, Raina was talking about the comeback to the Indian cricket team during the lockdown.
But when he made a post announcing his retirement after Dhoni, many couldn't believe the 33-year-old is bidding goodbye. Raina had last featured in the Indian cricket team in 2018 on England tour.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra jokingly told Raina to do an 'Afridi'. He meant Raina to make a comeback after retirement like Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi did many times.
"Of course, Suresh Raina could have played a lot more, he had no need to retire. Now he is 33 years old and yes there were some injury issues but which player does not have injury issues? And now after surgery, he was fitter, stronger, and better and in my thinking, he was itching to be back on the field.
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"You can understand Dhoni's case as if the IPL has taken place in April-May, the T20 World Cup would have taken place in October-November and maybe Dhoni would have been available for it. But maybe it's postponement is the main reason why Dhoni retired.
"But Raina had no such problems to be very honest. I would say please do a Shahid Afridi and come out of retirement. I believe that a couple of brilliant IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons can well see Raina in India's T20 World Cup squad."
Raina is currently with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise for IPL 2020. He and other CSK members have left for UAE for the tournament kicking off from September 19.