Chennai Super Kings (CSK) showed a lot of faith in India’s all-rounder Suresh Raina when they retained the cricketer for the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League, even after he remained out of the Indian squad for almost a year.

Ambati Rayudu, who the CSK snatched from Mumbai Indian during the much-talked-about Indian Premier League, was all praises for Suresh Raina and his ability to strike the ball.

Talking about Raina on the sidelines of a Star Sports show Game Plan, Rayudu said, “I think it’s the element of surprise Raina carries in his batting that makes him stand out. When bowlers don’t expect him to score or hit a delivery, he somehow manages to put it away for a four or six. We have suffered at his hands several times.”

Not just Rayudu, but the former director of cricket operations of Chennai Based franchise VB Chandrasekhar also believes that Raina is not yet finished as a cricketer.

“Raina is far from being finished as a cricketer. He doesn’t always need to be explosive. There is a factor called experience which helps. With experience on his side, he will be motivated to complete matches. I think he will look to stay on and finish games. He has got a lot to offer. He is also an outstanding athlete. It makes him such a huge influence on the field. When it comes to franchise cricket, it is a huge bonus having Raina around. He is someone who has been part and parcel of the team for many years. CSK have really benefitted from his presence,” the VB Chandrasekhar told TOI.

Now, after reuniting with India’s former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni under whose captaincy he had scored more than 400 runs except in the IPL 2015, expectations are high from the Southpaw.

The last time when Raina had appeared in One Day International (ODI) was in October 2015 against South Africa and after Dinesh Karthik’s heroics in the final of the recent tri-nation tournament, the competition had increased for a place in India’s middle-order.

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayadu, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur, Jagadeesan Narayan, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Asif K M, Lungisani Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Kanish Seth, Murali Vijay, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Singh, Chaitanya Bishnoi