The novel coronavirus has brought the world into a standstill which cancelled every sports event including the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. However, the IPL can wait as of now since millions of lives are at risk, thinks veteran India batsman Suresh Raina. However, Raina has already donated Rs 52 lakh, one of the highest donations among elite sportspersons as well. As far as the IPL is concerned, this is suspended for the time being.

"Life is most important at this point of time. IPL can surely wait. We all need to follow the government guidelines on lockdown else we all face the consequences. When life gets better, we can think about the IPL. So many people are dying at the moment, we need to save lives," Raina told PTI in an exclusive interview.

While spreading awareness on the matter, everyone is staying home and he is also staying home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown nationwide. Last week, their second child, son Rio was born. Had the situation was normal, he would have played for Chennai in the IPL.

He again said, "I am relaxing in the lockdown, cooking and spending time with the kids. There is so much more to life than cricket, moments like these make you realise that. With this lockdown, people should realise the importance of being down to earth. At this time, three-meals-a-day matter much more than the size of your house and car, what you wear doesn't matter. What you and your workers in the house are doing is the same. You are eating and feeding them at the same time.”

Raina last played in the competitive game was in the IPL final last year. He was busy preparing for the 2020 edition in Chennai before the IPL pushed back until April 15. The tournament was also supposed to be MS Dhoni's comeback event as well.

"It was a nice camp. I was there for two months but then this happened. Got to spend some time with Dhoni. He was batting so well in the nets, he had the hunger of a youngster. In one session, he batted for three hours at a stretch," shared Suresh Raina.

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