IPL 2020: MS Dhoni winces during COVID-19 testing before the tournament

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK), led by MS Dhoni, have already reached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On Friday, August 21, the Yellow Army landed in Dubai, gearing up for the quarantine period and the necessary protocols before action on the field of play gets underway on Saturday, September 19.

The players will have to adhere to the SOP’s put forth by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the upcoming domestic season. Therefore, the players were tested for the novel coronavirus before leaving India and after landing in the UAE. Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday, August 15, also went through the same.

In the meantime, the Dubai Sports Council shared a video where the CSK players landed in the UAE and went through COVID-19 tests. It also showed the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) going through the same procedure. Moreover, the video shows the 39-year-old Dhoni, somewhat, wincing in pain, while he was being tested for the ungodly virus.

Here’s the video

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••• تواصل الفرق المحترفة المشاركة في بطولة الدوري الهندي للكريكت(IPL ) وصولها إلى أرض دولة الإمارات التي تستضيف البطولة خلال الفترة من 19 سبتمبر إلى 10 نوفمبر بمشاركة 8 أندية محترفة يصل عدد أفرادها إلى 680 شخصا بالإضافة إلى أفراد عائلاتهم حيث سيتواجدون في الدولة لمدة 90 يوما للتدريب والاستعداد وخوض مباريات البطولة. وبعد وصول 3 فرق يوم الخميس 20 أغسطس، وصل عبر مطار دبي اليوم فريق "رويال تشالنجرز بانجلور" الذي يقوده فيرات كوهلي قائد المنتخب الهندي للكريكت، وفريق " تشيناي سوبر كينجز". ••• The professional teams participating in the Indian Cricket League (IPL) championship continue to arrive in the UAE, which hosts the tournament during the period from September 19 to November 10, with the participation of 8 professional clubs. After the arrival of 3 teams on Thursday, August 20, the "Royal Challengers Bangalore" team led by Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian national cricket team, arrived via Dubai airport today, and the "Chennai Super Kings" team. ••• ‏‎‏‎‏‎‏#Dubai #DubaiSC #DXB #DSC #UAE #Dubai_Sports_Pulse #we_are_all_responsible ‎‏#DubaiSportsCouncil #Sports #الجميع_مسؤول#MyDubai #دبي #دبي_نبض_الرياضة #مجلس_دبي_الرياضي #الإمارات #رياضة @royalchallengersbangalore @chennaiipl @dubaimediaoffice @emirates

A post shared by Dubai Sports Council (@dubaisc) on Aug 21, 2020 at 11:36am PDT

MS Dhoni to make a comeback after 14 months

After the curtains came down on his international career, the fans must be eagerly waiting to see India’s favourite son don the yellow jersey. He hasn’t played any form of cricket since the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester. In that game, he scored a half-century, but couldn’t take the Men in Blue to the final of the mega event.

He was expected to play in the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, after the tournament was postponed due to the global pandemic, Dhoni made up his mind to call it a day from Team India. At the time when he was away, reports of his retirement kept doing the rounds.

As far as the IPL is concerned, Dhoni has performed exceptionally for the Super Kings. In all the 10 seasons CSK have taken part in, they have qualified for the playoffs/semis. Last year, they missed out after losing by one run against the Mumbai Indians (MI), the four-time champions of the IPL.