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New Delhi: In a major blow to Chennai Super Kings, veteran batsman Suresh Raina will not be available for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) slated to be played in the UAE from September 19. The IPL franchise informed on Saturday morning that Raina has returned to India for "personal reasons".
"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season," CSK CEO K.S. Viswanathan was quoted as saying on the official Twitter handle on the Chennai-based franchise. "Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time."
Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time.
KS Viswanathan
CEO— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 29, 2020
The development comes a day after it was reported that 12 members of the CSK, including players/coaching/support staff, tested positive for Covid-19. Sources told IANS on Friday that the entire CSK team had been quarantined after the development.
"A total of 12 members have been found infected and the entire team has been told to go under quarantine. It is learnt that they got infected during a camp in Chennai," said the sources. "Other teams have also requested the BCCI to issue a statement for the safety of the cricketers in the UAE." CSK had landed in Dubai on August 21 and underwent the mandatory six-day quarantine period.
Meanwhile, one more Chennai Super Kings player has tested positive for COVID-19, taking the count of the positive-tested members of the three-time IPL champion team to 13, sources in the UAE told IANS on Saturday.
The development has raised a big question mark against the start of 13th edition of the IPL that is scheduled to start on September 19.
Just when fans were trying to grasp the development, reports came in that one more CSK player has tested positive. "One more player tested positive. His name is not known, but I was told that one more player has tested positive. This is becoming scary here in the UAE. Other teams are also a little worried now," sources told IANS.
While CSK CEO KS Viswanathan tweeted about Raina, he did not say anything about the number of squad members who have tested positive. The CSK has not issued any statement either.
The IPL, which is generally held in the summer in India, had to be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. It is now scheduled to be held between September 19 and November 10 in the UAE, but the BCCI has now announced the schedule of the matches.
Besides the CSK tweet, the real reason for Raina's return is not immediately known. The left-hander retired from international cricket along with former India captain and his friend, CSK skipper MS Dhoni, on August 15.
The BCCI has so far not issued any statement vis-à-vis CSK members testing positive.
(IANS)
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