The first Indian batsman to score a century in each format of international cricket, Suresh Raina decided to call time on his career in India colors at the age of 33 on August 15. His announcement came minutes after his teammate and friend, MS Dhoni had also announced his retirement.

The dual shock of the retirement of both these Indian players, who were part of the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy wins was too much for the fans of the Indian cricket team to digest. In an interview with NDTV, Raina talked about the emotional moment when he decided to retire from international cricket along with MS Dhoni.  

“Mahi bhai is like a brother to me. We have played together for 14-15 years now and the time that we spent cannot be measured. It was a very emotional time when we decided to retire from international cricket,” Raina said.

Raina, who was supposed to appear for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in the upcoming IPL 2020 in the UAE, returned home a couple of days back citing concern for his family and kids after 13 members of the franchise tested positive for COVID-19.

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It was also reported that Raina was unhappy with the room he had been given in the Dubai hotel where the CSK contingent set up their camp and was unable to cope with the quarantine period. The mental pressure became too much and he decided to come back to India.

“It was a personal decision and I had to come back to my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately at the home front and CSK is my family too and Mahi bhai is most important to me and this was a tough decision but with the family back home, I had to come back for them,” Raina said.  

Raina dismissed the rumors of him not liking his hotel room and said, “These are all fabricated stories and anyone who knows me, knows that these are all stories planted by people who don't want me or CSK to succeed.”

One of the reasons cited for his return was the tragedy that happened with his relatives in Punjab’s Pathankot. Robbers killed his uncle and cousin, while grievously hurting his aunt and other members of the family.

Raina had tweeted to the Punjab CM Amrinder Singh for help and talked about the developments in the probe ordered by the CM.

“He's assured us that he's looking into the case and there will be a positive outcome soon. We are really thankful for his support in this tragic situation,” Raina said.

(NDTV inputs)