IPL 2020: CSK members test negative for COVID-19; one test remains before practice

Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) players are support staff have tested negative for COVID-19 in the test carried out on Monday, August 31. With the Indian Premier League (IPL), scheduled to start on September 19, the franchise found themselves in a hole after their contingent tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Among cricketers, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Chahar were infected.

The players and support staff will have to go through another test on Thursday, September 3. If they pass the final hurdle, CSK can start their practice from September 5 onwards. The CSK, ever since landing in Dubai, have faced troubles and the latest development should come as a sigh of relief. Chahar and Gaikwad, however, will not be able to practice before September 12.

Du Plessis, Ngidi reach Dubai for IPL 2020

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh again postponed his travel, though he hasn’t confirmed, pulling out of the championship. The Turbanator has truckload of experience under his belt and played crucial roles for CSK in 2018 and 2019 after ending his stint at the Mumbai Indians (MI).

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi, in the meantime, reached Dubai and went straight into quarantine. “We hope that everything will be sorted out over the next few days and we will be able to come up with our best performance in the IPL,” a source was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

The Super Kings have also been marred with a mini-controversy after Suresh Raina backed off from the T20 tournament. Reports of rift with team management, fears of COVID-19, and ‘personal reasons’ have come to the fore regarding the same. Former BCCI president N Srinivasan went on to call him ‘prima donna’ and said that the 33-year-old was carried away by success.

Due to the chaos in the CSK camp, the BCCI hasn’t released the fixtures with around two and half weeks left for the tournament. The Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni, are the three-time champions and a lot would be expected of them. The players already had a five-day training camp at the Chepauk before leaving for Dubai and therefore, they must be warmed-up to some extent.