Suresh Raina, one of Indian cricket's most decorated players, has jumped on the T10 train and will play for the Deccan Gladiators in Season 6 of the Abu Dhabi T10, the league's organiser announced on Tuesday.
On September 6, Raina announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic cricket. This will be his first time participating in ADT10. Raina will play with Andre Russell, Taskin Ahmed, Josh Little, and David Wiese on the Deccan Gladiators team.
Four-time IPL champion Raina, who also captained the Gujarat Lions in 2016–17 and scored a lot of runs for them, has played for the Chennai Super Kings and amassed 5,528 runs in the tournament. The most runs have been scored by a CSK batter for the team in IPL history by Raina, also known as Mr. IPL.
The former India cricketer has 5,615 runs from 226 games in the 50-over format and 1,605 runs in the T20I format while donning the national colours. He was also a vital member of the team that won the 2011 ODI World Cup in India.
One of the cornerstones of numerous Indian success stories, Raina uttered, "I'm happy to be a part of the Deccan Gladiators, and I hope that we can win the championship this year as a team. I've been anticipating this new challenge in the Abu Dhabi T10 and intend to wow the crowd as well as my teammates. I'm thrilled to be taking part in what looks to be a thrilling competition."
Rajeev Khanna, COO of Abu Dhabi T10, said: "It's amazing that Suresh Raina has been added to the lineup for the Abu Dhabi T10. He brings along his wealth of expertise and knowledge for his teammates in addition to his outstanding cricketing prowess and contribution to the competition. His involvement would undoubtedly increase interest in Season 6 of the Abu Dhabi T10 among fans."
Gaurav Grover, the team's owner, said "A player of Suresh Raina's calibre joining the Deccan Gladiators would be a very exciting development. We expect him to contribute significantly to our batting lineup, and we believe he will help us score a lot of runs. The addition of Suresh Raina strengthens our side, and we need as much of it as we can if we are to successfully defend our championship this year."
From November 23 to December 4, the Abu Dhabi T10's sixth season will be held. The Gladiators take the field for the second game of the day on the first day, playing their first game against Team Abu Dhabi.