Suresh Raina ‘rested’ after his name pops up in Lalit Modi’s email to ICC

Suresh Raina was initially named captain for the three ODIs and two T20s against Zimbabwe.

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Suresh Raina issued a statement denying all allegations against him as false. (Source: File)

Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t the first-choice captain for India’s recently concluded cricket tour of Zimbabwe. The selectors had initially picked Suresh Raina for the role but they had to “rest” him and name Rahane as captain after a top BCCI official intervened.

The Indian Express has learnt that the top brass of BCCI weren’t keen on Raina after he was named in an email from Lalit Modi to ICC, where it was alleged that Raina, along with Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, had accepted favours from an Indian real estate tycoon.

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The Indian selectors had met on June 29 to select the team for Zimbabwe, just two days after Modi’s email to ICC CEO David Richardson became public.

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The senior selection committee was in a fix when the BCCI official asked them not to name Raina as captain. The selectors had initially named Raina captain for three ODIs and two T20s.

In the post-selection media interaction, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur was asked questions about Raina and why the Indian board had never investigated him although his name kept popping up time and again. “These three are international players, and the ICC has to conduct an enquiry. So far, ICC has not come out with a report. There is no information from the ICC as of now. In a way, this is clean chit,” Thakur had said, giving a clean chit to three cricketers.

Later, Raina issued a statement denying all allegations against him as false. “I would like to make my fans around the world aware, and clear the air that I have always played the game in the right spirit and with utmost integrity. I have never been involved in any wrongdoing and all allegations against me are false. Playing cricket is my passion, for whichever team I have represented. I am also figuring out my legal rights to take the right steps ahead in this matter.”

In 2010, the BCCI had dismissed a report which said that Raina was seen with a woman allegedly linked to bookies during the tour of Sri Lanka that year.

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The overruling of the selectors’ decision has precedent. As per the BCCI selection committee protocol, the convener of the selection meeting has to get clearance from the BCCI president before announcing the team. If the BCCI president is not happy with any decision, he has the power to overrule the selection committee.

Just a few years ago, then BCCI president N Srinivasan had used his powers to overrule the decision of the then panel of selectors, which included Mohinder Amarnath, to strip M S Dhoni of the ODI captaincy and name Virat Kohli as his successor.

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