Chennai Super Kings stalwart Suresh Raina has reportedly withdrew from IPL 2020 amidst fear of Corona pandemic. As per the report from Times of India, the cricketer have asked permission of coach Stephen Fleming and captain MS Dhoni.
Earlier today, Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Viswanathan has confirmed Suresh Raina will be unavailable for IPL 2020 for personal reasons. The team also released a statement on their social media channel on the same. However, the reason for his withdrawal was not mentioned.
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
As per the TOI report, the cricketer has shared his concerns with his teammates on Friday. Yesterday the news came out about corona positives in Chennai Super Kings team. At least 12 members in CSK camp including two players have contracted the virus.
“On Friday night, in fact, there was a huge ruckus. He tried calling all his teammates, coach (Stephen Fleming), skipper (MS Dhoni) again and again to share his concerns. MS, in fact, also tried explaining things to him but nothing worked. He was badly psyched up and worried. Eventually, everybody else realised there was no point holding him (back) from travelling back because he was totally gripped by fear,” a source told TOI.
“He just couldn’t take it anymore and refused to be calmed down,” sources say.
“CSK did an excellent job in not trying to hold him back. They tried talking to him for some time but eventually realised the best thing would be to let Suresh leave. Gripped by that kind of fear, he wouldn’t be at peace. It was better for him to be with his family,” the sources added.
Chennai Super Kings Board face Daunting Task
Despite all the chaos, Chennai Super Kings face a daunting task of finding an ideal replacement for Suresh Raina. It is not going to get any easier in the coming days, especially since IPL is looming closer.
The southpaw is their most prolific player in Chennai Super Kings history. He is associated with Chennai Super Kings since the inception of IPL. He is fondly called by fans as “Chinna Thala”. But his unavailability meant Chennai needs to change team composition to a great extend and find an overseas replacement for him in next few days.
On the other hand, Suresh Raina was eager to prove his credentials with a proper IPL outing after announcing his international retirement. However, things did not turn out as expected both for the player and fans alike.
