Suresh Raina picks his all-time best CSK XI

Former Indian batter Suresh Raina has picked his all-time best CSK playing XI with MS Dhoni as the captain and keeper of the XI. Speaking exclusively on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, Raina has picked Murali Vijay and Matthew Hayden as his opening batters.

Moving forward, he also picked Michael Hussey and himself. Later, Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Doug Bollinger, and Shadab Jakati occupied the other slots. Moreover, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are also part of his XI.

Additionally, he has picked Lakshmipathi Balaji and Mohit Sharma as his pacers, with Muttiah Muralitharan being the impact player of his side. Raina also termed that Jakati didn’t get enough recognition during his playing days for CSK.

“My all-time CSK XI is Murali Vijay, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, L Balaji, Mohit Sharma. If you want an impact player, then I would keep Muralitharan Sir,” Suresh Raina said on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.

“I think the X-factor Shadab Jakati was; he didn’t get the recognition. He performed very well when we won in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Whenever we qualified, he did exceptionally well,” he added.

Furthermore, Raina also shared a few words on MS Dhoni’s aura as a batter during his initial days in the IPL, stating that umpires and non-strikers used to tremble whenever he comes out to bat.

“(MS Dhoni, the batsman, the wicketkeeper, or the captain) – No, it’s all three because his impact as a keeper, the way he sees the game from behind, and as a batter, I have batted a lot with him. The way he has hit sixes, I’ve seen bowlers shaking from the non-strikers' end that they don’t get hit. Even the umpires used to tremble."

"Even I used to bend. He and Yuvraj Singh have hit the sixes that if you get at the non-striker’s end, then you get out of the match,” he added.

Suresh Raina’s all-time CSK XI:

Murali Vijay, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Albie Morkel, Doug Bollinger, Shadab Jakati, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), L Balaji, Mohit Sharma, Muttiah Muralitharan (Impact Player).

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