Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has registered for the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 player auction. Raina will be offered at auction on June 14 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a base price of over INR 41 lakhs ($50,000). Alongside former India captain MS Dhoni, Raina said farewell to international cricket in August 2020 and the Indian Premier League in September 2022.
Raina remained an important member of the Chennai Super Kings team after playing for them for the entirety of his IPL tenure. The 36-year-old cricketer played part in the Abu Dhabi T10 competition in December 2022 as a member of the Deccan Gladiators, the winning team.
Although he only helped his team by 36 runs during the competition, Raina’s individual performance was modest. In addition, Raina featured in the Legends Cricket Match earlier this year and displayed his abilities in the commentary box during the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
LPL 2023 to have IPL-styled Auction
The fourth season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will include an IPL-style auction for the first time. Sri Lankan news source, reports that Raina has agreed to take part in the upcoming tournament’s auction for a starting bid of USD 50,000. 140 overseas cricketers, including more than 500 players, have confirmed their registration with Sri Lanka Cricket for the player auction. The tournament will take place from July 30 to August 20. Five teams, each with a $500k budget, will take part in the auction.
Other famous cricket players who will be participating in the LPL 2023, in addition to Raina, include Pakistan captain Babar Azam and South Africa’s David Miller. The only other Indian cricketer to play in the Lanka Premier League, aside from Raina, is player-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan. During the LPL 2020 season, Pathan played for the Kandy Tuskers.
Speaking of Raina’s performance with CSK, he had a fantastic career there and definitely helped in their victories. In 2010, 2011, and 2018, the CSK team won three IPL championships, and Raina was an important member of each of those campaigns. One of the most prolific run scorers in IPL history, Raina collected 5,491 runs over 200 matches throughout the course of his career.
Cricket fans are looking forward to the outcome of Raina’s participation in the LPL 2023 auction as teams will have the chance to sign this seasoned player and T20 specialist.
