Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings lost their third match of the season against Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The defending champions have been struggling right from the start of the league in the year 2020 too which was played in UAE and in both the seasons there is one more thing which is common and that is the absence of star batter, Suresh Raina.
In 2020 when the league took place in UAE Raina decided to return home due to some personal reasons just before the start of the league. He kept himself isolated from the team for the entire season and CSK badly missed Mr IPL. The Yellow Army failed to make it to Play-offs for the first time ever.
CSK is once again struggling and they are missing their 'Chinna Thala' badly. The CSK management released Raina for the season and did not bid for him in the auction. The other franchises also did not show their interest in Raina and he remained unsold for the season.
Now, fans are reacting and missing Suresh Raina and are comparing both seasons without the southpaw. Netizens are even asking CKS to bring back Raina, who can be seen in the commentary box these days. Here are some of the reactions:
@ChennaiIPL @ImRaina bhai ko vapas lao csk management sabko moka deta h to ek bar kyu raina bhai ko chance kyu ni dete
— Mahi (@Mahiyogi198) April 4, 2022
This was expected as it was real poor performance at the auction table. They dozed off possibly. No batsman, no bowler, no impact player. Captaincy was their strength, that gone too. Also feel the talisman chinna thala @ImRaina is being missed.
— Eapen Abraham (@eapenabraham) April 4, 2022
A family is completed with a wife... So @ImRaina is the wife of @ChennaiIPL . Without china thala csk family is incomplete...china thala we miss u.. #CSKvsPBKS
— CRIC-FACTS (@SanjitKumarSw12) April 4, 2022
No hate just a fact@ChennaiIPL in IPL 2022 without @ImRaina and @faf1307 is like Zimbabve in World Cup #fact #nohate #IPL2022 #FafDuPlessis #Raina #Cricket
— Aadhya (@Aadhya_4628) April 4, 2022
Notably, CSK has faced 14 defeats out of 22 matches in which Raina was not a part of the Playing XI with only 8 wins with a low win percentage of 36.36.
Suresh Raina has 5528 runs to his name in 205 IPL matches with 39 half-centuries and one century at a strike rate of 136.76.
With three defeats in three matches Chennai is currently languishing at ninth place on the points table and they will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next encounter on Saturday at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
