Over the years Suresh, Raina had established himself as an integral part of the Chennai Super Kings line-up. On the tenth anniversary of the IPL, he was named in the all-time IPL XI by a leading publication. A year later, he became the first to score 5,000 runs in the competition.
However, in August 2020, he announced his retirement from international cricket, hours after his close friend M.S. Dhoni.
That year, the start of the IPL had been delayed because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCCI had also decided to move the IPL from India to the UAE.
Raina, vice-captain of Chennai, had appeared fully committed to the new seasons, and had begun preparations for the campaign at home. He had shared several videos of himself training as well as participated in a five-day training camp in Chennai before flying out to the Middle East.
However, days before the tournament was about to start, multiple members of the CSK squad tested positive for COVID-19. That panicked Raina, who became increasingly concerned about the risks involved in remaining in the UAE for the whole of the tournament. He tried calling his teammates, coach Steven Fleming and captain Dhoni, to share his concerns.
However, when he failed to get the necessary reassurances, he decided to pull out of the tournament and fly home immediately.
To add to his anxieties, his family in Punjab had been involved in a violent robbery, in the course of which an uncle and several cousins had been murdered. He felt that his family needed him, and his wife and children deserved to have him by their side in the middle of the pandemic.
The Chennai management was not impressed by Raina pulling out of the competition for personal reasons. They terminated his contract, along with that of Harbhajan Singh, who had not even travelled to Chennai in the first place.
However, he did return for them in 2021 to become the fourth player in IPL history to play 200 matches.
He was unsold in the 2022 IPL Auctions and has been working as a commentator during the current season.