Here's why CSK's Suresh Raina pulled out of IPL 2020 in UAE and returned to India

In a massive blow to the Chennai Super Kings, veteran batsman Suresh Raina pulled out of the upcoming tournament in UAE on Saturday. The franchise's CEO had confirmed Raina's return to India, however, he refrained from revealing the reason behind the batsman's withdrawal. Sources have now reported that the CSK star pulled out of the IPL 2020 due to the COVID threat that hit the franchise on Friday as 12 members were infected with the virus. 

Why did Raina pull out of IPL 2020?

Raina has travelled back to India to be with his wife and his two children as the virus hit the franchise just 3 weeks before IPL 2020 commenced. Apart from this, Raina was also grieving the loss of his uncle who was killed in a robbery 10 days back. During the incident, four of his family members had also sustained injuries which added to the reason behind Raina's return to India. 

As the virus threat looms over CSK, veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is yet to travel to the UAE, is likely to skip the tournament. Sources have added that the spinner is in two-minds whether to travel to the Middle East and join the franchise or not. Due to the virus threat, CSK's quarantine period has also been extended by another week. 

READ | BCCI Issues Statement As COVID Hits IPL 2020; Says All Infected Personnel Are Asymptomatic

Earlier on Friday, PTI reported that 12 members of the MS Dhoni-led franchise had tested positive for the novel Coronavirus. On Saturday, another player of the franchise had contracted the infection. The BCCI on Saturday confirmed that 13 personnel have been infected with the virus including two players. The BCCI has also informed that a total of 1988 RT-PCR Tests have been conducted between August 20-28 and that all affected personnel and their close contacts are 'asymptomatic' and have been isolated. 

READ | Such A Star, You'll Be Missed: Shane Watson's Message To Suresh Raina As He Exits IPL 2020

BCCI issues statement

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put in place stringent health and safety protocols for the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 Season, which is scheduled to start from September 19th in the UAE. Accordingly, upon landing in the UAE, all the participants have followed a mandatory testing and quarantine programme. A total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID tests were carried out between August 20th – 28th across all participant groups in the UAE. These groups include Players, Support Staff, Team Management, BCCI Staff, IPL Operational team, Hotel, and ground transport Staff," the BCCI said in a statement on Saturday. 

READ | Suresh Raina To Miss IPL 2020; CSK Issues Statement As He Returns To India

CSK 2020 Full Squad

Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Ravindra Jadeja, M Vijay, MS Dhoni, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore

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