India, Sept. 5 -- August 15, 2020, produced one of the most extraordinary evenings in Indian cricket. At 7:29 pm, MS Dhoni quietly announced through an Instagram post that his international career was over. Barely minutes later, another announcement followed from Suresh Raina, bringing the curtain down on an India career that had stretched across 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is.

The timing inevitably led to the belief that Raina, then only 33, had simply decided to follow his long-time India and Chennai Super Kings captain into international retirement. Six years later, however, Raina has revealed that even Dhoni himself did not see his decision coming. Speaking to former India opener Aakash Chopra on his YouTube show Baith & Bol, Raina ...