Suresh Raina (Photo Source: Twitter)
Suresh Raina was one of the most consistent players in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) and was one of the main reasons behind Chennai Super Kings’ success during his playing career.
The southpaw recently took a sly dig at teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and Delhi Capitals while talking about the infamous IPL parties, a culture that was prevalent in the initial years of the cash-rich league. After-match parties saw Bollywood celebrities and cricketers gelling and enjoying themselves, giving fans a glimpse into their glamorous avatars.
However, afterone of the cheerleaders, Gabriella Pasqualotto revealed her unfortunate experiences via a tell-all blog, the parties were scrapped. The then-model had lambasted several cricketers and said that cheerleaders were not respected behind the scenes. After this controversy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) put an end to the party culture in the IPL.
“Chennai never partied. That’s why they have been the most successful. 2-3 teams who partied have not won the IPL yet. Laughss (Do you mean RCB?). No, there are a few teams who haven’t won, they must have partied hard. We (CSK) didn’t do it. That’s why we have 5 IPL trophies and 2 Champions League trophies. MI also have won 5 trophies,” Raina said about the after parties in the IPL during an interaction on India Today’s sister channel Lallantop.
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In May-June’s heat, how will you play afternoon games if you have partied all night?: Raina
The cricketer-turned-commentator Suresh Raina explained that it is nearly impossible to play afternoon games after partying late into the night. Raina was asked whether then-CSK captain MS Dhoni was the one who decided that the Men in Yellow would not party after their matches. The 2011 ODI World Cup winner said that the entire team decided to avoid partying as they were focused on doing well for the team.
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“If you party late into the night, how will you play in the morning? In May-June’s heat, how will you play afternoon games if you have partied all night?” the former CSK legend added.
“The entire team was particular about not partying late into the night. We are also playing for India, keep in mind. If I don’t play well, why will my captain select me? Now, I am free, I have retired. We can party,” Raina concluded.