Srinivasan throws his weight behind Raina in his hour of crisis

He further said that the franchise will stand by Raina and that the former India batsman will always have its support during ‘these times of distress’. Raina, whose contribution to the team was described as ‘phenomenal’ by Srinivasan, recently opted out of the 2020 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and returned to India.

He had earlier been quoted as saying, “Cricketers are like prima donnas ... like the temperamental actors of the olden days.”

Offering a clarification on the quote, he said: “These boys, they’re family. They’ve been family for over a decade now. When I said ‘cricketers are like prima donnas’, it wasn’t in a negative sense. A prima donna is the lead singer in an opera. Similarly, cricketers are always at the forefront of an exercise like this,” he said.

Raina returned to India on August 29, with franchise CEO KS Viswanathan saying that the left-hander had left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to ‘personal reasons’. “My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything ... sometimes success gets into your head,” Srinivasan had been quoted as saying.

“The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money (a salary of 11 crores per season) he is going to lose,” he was further quoted as saying.