3 reasons why Johannesburg Super Kings should sign Suresh Raina for SA20 League

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Suresh Raina recently announced his retirement from all formats of domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Raina made this tough call after going unsold at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.

The left-handed batter is 35 and still has a few years of cricket left in him. With IPL franchises not showing any interest in him earlier this year, Raina has ended his career in the league and made himself eligible to play in other T20 leagues across the world.

Raina has already signed with the India Legends team for the Road Safety World Series 2022. He will likely receive contracts from other franchises in foreign T20 tournaments as well.

Raina's former IPL franchise CSK recently bought a team in the new SA20 League in South Africa, which is set to have its first edition this year. They have named it as the Johannesburg Super Kings (JSK).

Given Raina's incredible history with CSK, the Johannesburg-based side could give him the perfect launchpad for his entry into foreign leagues. Here are three reasons why JSK should rope in Raina for the new tournament.

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#1 Suresh Raina can captain the JSK franchise in the inaugural SA20 League season

Suresh Raina has captained the Chennai Super Kings in IPL. (Image: Getty)

Suresh Raina is one of only three players to have led the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL. He was the vice-captain of the franchise for a long time, and captained the team whenever MS Dhoni was unavailable. Raina even led the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in the IPL as well as the Indian team.

Given the leadership experience he has under his belt, he could be a great choice to lead the Johannesburg Super Kings in the initial seasons of the SA20 League.

Raina has the ability to gel well with other players and can keep the dressing room atmosphere light. It will be interesting to see if the JSK team management thinks in a similar way.

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#2 Suresh Raina has an excellent record on South African pitches

The second edition of the IPL in 2009 happened in South Africa. Back then, Raina was the second-highest run-scorer for the Chennai Super Kings. He played 14 games that season, scoring 434 runs at a strike rate of 140.91, with a high score of 98.

He also aggregated 133 runs in five T20I innings for India in South Africa. His strike rate in those five innings was 156.47 and he scalped three wickets with his handy off-breaks as well.

Considering his past experience and success in South Africa, Raina could be an asset for the Johannesburg Super Kings team in the SA20 League.

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#3 Suresh Raina's popularity will help boost SA20 League viewership

Raina is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. He has 21 million followers on Instagram, and millions of fans follow him on other social media platforms as well.

Since the SA20 League and Johannesburg Super Kings are new kids on the block, they will have to sign some big names to grab the fans' attention. Roping in someone like Suresh Raina for the inaugural season could boost the viewership and reach of the SA20 League.

It may also help them in competing with the Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, and International League T20. Those three tournaments will take place in the same window as the South African league and are likely to have established superstars as well.