Suresh Raina reveals reason behind him, MS Dhoni choosing August 15 to announce retirement

Chennai: Suresh Raina, who announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August along with former India captain MS Dhoni, has spoken about the decision and also revealed the day's events.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo that cites another report from Hindi daily Dainik Jagaran, Raina knew about Dhoni's imminent retirement and was prepared for the moment.

"I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready. After announcing our retirement, we hugged and cried a lot. I, Piyush, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, and Karn sat together after that, talked about our careers and our relationship. We partied during the night," Raina said.

Both Raina and Dhoni are members of Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings and will soon fly to UAE to play this year's edition.

Raina also said that both him and Dhoni had decided to announce their retirement on Independence Day and gave a unique reason behind selecting this particular day.

"We had already made up our minds to retire on Saturday (August 15). Dhoni's jersey number is 7 and mine is 3. Put it together and it makes 73.