Dhoni and I hugged and cried after announcing retirement: Suresh Raina

Dhoni and Raina announced their retirement on August 15

Former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement on 15th August, which also happened to be India’s Independence day.

Shortly after Dhoni announced his retirement, so did all-rounder Suresh Raina. His resignation was officially accepted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India the next day.

"I knew Dhoni would announce his retirement upon reaching Chennai, so I was ready. I, Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma reached Ranchi on 14th with the chartered plane, and picked up Mahi bhai and Monu Singh. After announcing our retirement, we hugged and cried a lot. I, Piyush, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Karn sat together after that, (and) talked about our careers and our relationship. We partied during the night, Raina told Dainik Jagran.

The reason the duo announced their retirement together is rooted in their jersey numbers.

"We had made up our minds to retire on August 15. Mahi Bhai’s jersey number is 7 and mine is 3 and put it together and it makes 73. And on Saturday, our country completed 73 years of independence, so there couldn't have been a better day," said Raina.

Both Dhoni and Raina will play for the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL, to be held in UAE. The IPL kicks-off on September 19.