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Suresh Raina is arguably one of the greatest players to have played in the Indian T20 league. Thus, him going unsold during the mega auction shocked all the cricket fans. Besides, he has not been named as a replacement for any player as of now.
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However, in what comes as pleasing news to all the Raina fans, he seems set to be a part of the fifteenth edition of the Indian T20 league as a commentator. Not only him, but even Ravi Shastri is expected to return to the commentary box. This will be his first stint as a commentator post his appointment as India's head coach in 2017.
It is to be noted that Shastri is one of the most celebrated commentators. Apparently, the 59-year-old was approached by one of the new teams for a coaching gig, but that didn't happen. As for Raina, he is a popular face and thus, he could attract a lot of attention as a commentator. Besides, he has been associated with the league since its inception.
"You all know that Raina won't be a part of the ITL this time but we somehow wanted to link him with the tournament. He has a massive fan following and there is a reason why he is known as Mr ITL. As for Shastri, he was part of Star Sports English commentary team. But he didn't commentate after the final of Champions Trophy in 2017 as he became India's head coach," said a source, as quoted by Dainik Jagaran.
An important point to be noted is that both Raina and Shastri will be will be part of the Hindi commentary team for the 2022 edition. It has also been reported that the former Mumbai cricketer has been taking Hindi lessons on Zoom for his upcoming stint. Shastri has generally been an English commentator and hence, he has been doing some rehearsals for his stint as a Hindi commentator.
In the meanwhile, this will be the first time that Raina won't feature in the league as a player. He has been synonymous with Chennai, and has been one of their greatest players. Besides, he has also been a part of four-title winning campaigns.