Srinivasan was very candid about how he and franchisee owners India Cements operated in the functioning of the team and never poked their nose into cricketing decision, which were best left to the think tank.
“I have treated him like one (son). The reason for CSK’s success in IPL over the years is because of the fact that franchise never poked its nose into cricketing matters. India Cements is running cricket since ‘60s. I will always remain like that,” Srinivasan told news agency PTI.
“Look, please understand, that that’s not my domain (whether Raina will come back or not) at all,” the former ICC and BCCI chief said. “We own a team, we own the franchise but we do not own players. Team is ours but players are not. I don’t own the players,” he added.
“I am not the cricket captain. I have never told them (team management) whom to play, whom to take in the auction, never. We have the greatest captain of all times. So, why shall I even interfere in cricketing matters?” Srinivasan further said.
After media reports of a rift between Raina and the team management over his accommodation in the UAE and an internal rift between him and CSK skipper MS Dhoni, Raina had quashed all rumors over such speculations floating around after his sudden departure from the UAE.
3-time champions CSK who are battling a Covid-19 scare further got a major jolt when their seasoned campaigner Raina pulled out of the IPL citing “personal reasons” and left the CSK camp in the UAE last week to return back to India with his family.
“It was a personal decision and I had to come back for my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately on the home front,” Raina told Cricbuzz in an interview.
In the same interview, Raina hinted that he might decide to go back to UAE to be a part of the tournament this year at some point. The former BCCI president Srinivasan was initially furious with Raina’s departure but softened his stance later.