Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan has confirmed that his team are ready to play the opening game of IPL 2020. There has been reports of snubbing Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians as the first match of the tournament due to the corona crisis.
However, Viswanathan has revealed the game are ready to participate in the curtain raiser. He revealed this info in an exclusive interview to InsideSport. Although, the team are ready to take part in the first match, the ultimate call on the matter will be made by IPL governing council.
The team has suffered major setbacks since landing in Dubai. Two players and 11 staff members in the contingent were tested positive. This seriously jeopardized thier preparations. On the other hand, due to this incident, BCCI has further delayed the announcement of IPL 2020 schedule.
14 Arabian Nights later… 😍💛#WhistlePodu #Yellove pic.twitter.com/2lPPGPUqmv
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 4, 2020
The results of other players and staff were received on Thursday. Since they were negative, Chennai Super Kings are going to start their first team training session on Friday. While all the franchises have started preparing last week, this is quite a setback for Chennai Super Kings team.
Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaekwad along with other positive cases in CSK are shifted to a new hotel. The duo will undergo new tests starting next week and will eventually join the team in the coming two weeks.
IPL 2020 Schedule Will Be Announced on Friday, Says Ganguly
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has revealed the final schedule for IPL 2020 will be released on Friday. The IPL governing council were forced to delay their plans to release it earlier due to various factors.
However, with IPL just round the corner, teams will be looking excitedly to find their games. Other BCCI officials also indicated that the schedule will be released today. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings will look to prepare themselves well within the short span of time.
The withdrawal of Suresh Raina will definitely have an impact on the team. The southpaw is their most important batsman in their experienced batting lineup. However, Raina himself thinks MS Dhoni should bat at No. 3 for Chennai Super Kings in his absence.
IPL 2020 will begin on September 19 and will span across three cities over two months. The finals are played on November 10.
