India's Former batter Suresh Raina disclosed the reason to call off his cricketing career after former Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement.
Raina said to Star Sports that once Dhoni retired from International cricket, he had no motivation left to continue playing. He even said that even IPL did not inspire him.
"I played a lot for India and for whatever reasons I wasn't selected, my training was at such peak that no one would be able to question it. When I didn't play for India after that, I still worked hard thinking let me play for Dhoni bhai for how much he has won for us. Once he retired, I felt there wasn't any reason or motivation left. When I was not playing for India, even the money from IPL didn't motivate me. Once IPL would end, my mind would be on the Indian team's tours for the next nine months," he told Star Sports.
Raina shared the sacrifice he did to play cricket as he spend most of his time playing cricket and gave less time to his family.
"When that stopped, I stopped enjoying. You get so used to playing for India and the pride that comes with it that once it stops you need to latch on to another motivation such as family. I didn't spend much at home while growing up and by the time I retired my father passed away. So I want to ensure I spend maximum time with my children and enjoy the small joys of life with them so that when they grow up they have these memories," Raina added.
Raina however overcame the injury and made a return back to the Indian squad. He ended up playing 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20 International for the Indian team. He ended up scoring 768 runs in the Test format, and 5,615 runs in the ODI format with an average of 35.3. While in the T20I format, he struck 1,605 runs with a strike rate of 134.9.
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