Suresh Raina and IPL are inseparable and though Raina won't be on the battlefield in the upcoming edition of the IPL, he is all set to play his game in a new avatar. Raina, who holds a special place in Chennai Super Kings and in the hearts of Chennai fans who fondly call him 'Chinna Thala', didn't make it to any of the teams during the mega auction. As per the mandate, Chennai Super Kings retained four players but released Raina from the squad. 

Raina, who is also known as Mr IPL, has recorded a first-of-its-kind event where he remained unsold throughout the auction. It was speculated that he would be bought by the two new teams. However, nothing such happened and the fans had a shocking moment where Raina is off the battlefield. After a month, the fans now have a piece of relishing news that Raina is coming back to the IPL 2022, not as a player, but as a commentator. 

Raina will be making his debut as a commentator during the IPL 2022 and he will be teaming up with former Team India coach Ravi Shastri on Star Sports Hindi commentary. Reputed batsman Sunil Gavaskar will also be joining the club of commentary. Popular players like Kevin Pietersen, Mark Nicholas, Ian Bishop, Danny Morrison, Simon Doull, and Michael Slater are expected to join the IPL English commentary. 

Hindi commentary will also have Aakash Chopra, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Nikhil Chopra, Tanya Purohit, Jatin Sapru, and Suren Sundaram. It must be noted that Ravi Shastri is coming back to commentary for the first time after completing his stint as Team India Head Coach. 

Speaking to Dainik Jagran newspaper, an IPL source said, "You all know that Raina won't be a part of the IPL this time but we somehow wanted to link him with the tournament. He has a massive fan following and there is a reason why he is known as Mr IPL. As for Shastri, he was part of the Star Sports English commentary team. But he didn't commentate after the final of Champions Trophy in 2017 as he became India's head coach."