DOUBLE WHAMMY
Raina pulls out of IPL, virus count touches 13
Over a dozen Covid- 19 positive cases in the Chennai Super Kings camp and a surprise pullout by Suresh Raina have sent shock waves across IPL teams based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Even though the other teams have settled into their bubbles and begun training, the Covid- 19 scare has raised serious doubts about the tournament, scheduled to start on September 19.
The BCCI is yet to announce the fixtures as different health protocols in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have complicated the scheduling issue.
As defending champions, Mumbai Indians were expected to take on CSK in the opener but now that the M. S. Dhoniled team’s pre- tournament camp is in disarray, BCCI could give them extra time and rework the plan.
A top CSK official said the team is looking to start training by September 5, with those who tested positive expected to rejoin the bio- bubble later.
As many as 13 from CSK have tested positive and all of them have been moved to a different hotel for a two- week isolation. “All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members,” said a BCCI release without mentioning the name of the franchise or players.
FOCUS ON COUNSELLING
As Raina was reportedly ‘ worried’ about the growing number of cases within the bubble and dealing with family issues, the focus of the teams has now shifted to counselling their players. A few teams, including the Super Kings, are said to have sought help from mental health experts to deal with the situation. “It’s very important to survive in a bio- bubble where players have to cope with Covid19 fear, isolation and anxiety. We sense that some players are not their usual self with so many restrictions and protocols to follow,” a team official said. Players have been constantly monitored through a gadget ( a fob) which they are supposed to wear all the time.
Apart from that, they have to feed their body temperature in a mobile app on a daily basis.
FOREIGN PLAYER JITTERY
A foreign player who is currently in the CSK biobubble has reportedly raised concerns over the pre- departure conditioning camp in Chennai which is believed to be the source of infection. A net bowler and a member of the social media team had to be left out of the contingent after they tested positive in Chennai. CSK were the only team to organise a pre- departure conditioning camp for their Indian players at the insistence of skipper Dhoni. The ‘ jittery’ foreign player has questioned the decision to hold the camp in a city that witnesses at least 1,000 new positive cases every day.
BHAJJI TO JOIN CSK CAMP ON SEPT. 1
Off- spinner Harbhajan Singh, who opted out of CSK’s conditioning camp in Chennai, is expected to join the squad on September 1. He had withdrawn from the team’s travel schedule because of personal reasons.