"For Raina I was definitely surprised," Sunil Gavaskar speaks up on Suresh Raina goin unsold in the mega auction

One of the biggest surprises from the recently concluded ITL mega auction was Suresh Raina going unsold. The left-hander had an association with the team since the beginning, and it was expected that they would still go strong together. He has been one of their best performers by being the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament's history.

Speaking of any team not going after Raina, Sunil Gavaskar has stated that it could have been because of how his game looked on the Dubai pitches last season. He added that Raina brings a lot to the table for a team and that he was surprised at him being unsold.

In a conversation with Sports Tak, he said, "For Raina, I was definitely surprised. He is left-handed, does off-spin bowling, and is experienced. In the last season, in the Dubai pitches, where there is a lot of bounce, he did look a little scared, and this is why I feel people must have felt that even in India we will have fast bowlers and so maybe he wasn't picked for that reason. But only the franchises could tell us why they had this feeling about him."

Team CEO on Sures Raina

Raina has played 205 games in the ITL, most of them for Chennai. On Raina's time with Chennai, the team CEO Kasi Vishvanath has explained why they did not go after him in the auction. The form of a player has to be considered for him to fit in a team, he said.

In a video released on Chennai's YouTube channel, Kasi said, "Raina has been one of the most consistent performers for CSK for the last 12 years. Of course, it was very difficult for us, not to have Raina but at the same time, you should also understand that the team composition depends on the form and kind of which any team would like to have so that’s one of the reasons why we thought he may not fit into this team."

Sunil Gavaskar on Amit Mishra

Speaking of Amit Mishra in the same conversation, Sunil Gavaskar said he was not too surprised at him being unsold. Mainly because he did not play many matches last season and also his bowling was not up to the mark. The former Indian captain also pointed out that fielding was equally important nowadays, which led to him being unsold.