Former India middle-order batsman Suresh Raina, who was among 34 people arrested and released on bail by Mumbai Police for violating Covid-19 social distancing norms at a club, has regretted the “unintentional and unfortunate” incident.

A statement issued by Raina’s management team said the 34-year old was not aware of the local timings and protocols at the time of the incident.

“Suresh was in Mumbai for a shoot which extended to late hours and was invited by a friend for a quick dinner post the same prior to him taking his flight back to Delhi. He was not aware of the local timings and protocols.

“Once pointed out, he immediately complied with the procedures laid out by the authorities and regrets the unfortunate and unintentional incident. He always holds rules and laws laid down by governing bodies with the highest regard and will continue to do so in future as well,” the statement said.

Police said seven staffers of the club were nabbed.

Also detained at the upscale Dragonfly Experience in Andheri was Bollywood celebrity Sussanne Khan, who later clarified via Instagram that they “were asked to wait for a period of three hours”.

The police said the raid was conducted after the club remained open beyond the permissible time limit and violated Covid-19 norms.

“Party (Nahin) Chalegi Till Six In The Morning! A raid was conducted at a nightclub in Andheri at around 3am, for flouting COVID prevention norms. Action has been initiated against 34 people, out of which 19 were from Delhi & Punjab, including some celebrities #NewNormal,” Mumbai police tweeted.

Raina, who played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is, retired from international cricket in August. Having exited the IPL in the UAE, Raina is set to return to competitive cricket as he will be playing for his native state Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy that starts from January 10.

It’s obvious that the left-handed batsman has his eyes on a comeback in IPL 2021, which the BCCI wants to be staged in India.