Citing "personal reasons", Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) experienced cricketer, Suresh Raina, this Saturday (August 29) pulled himself out of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and decided to go back home.
Raina's absence will be a huge blow to Super Kings' chances as they eye their fourth title in the UAE.
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"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season," confirmed CSK CEO KS Viswanathan. "Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time."
Soon after the development, many over social media began speculating as to why Raina decided to skip the entire IPL 2020 despite travelling for it. Multiple people even connected the news to the revelation on Friday (August 28) that 1 CSK player and 12 support staff personnel have tested COVID-19 positive.
Baffled by the lack of sensitivity on the part of those who seek a quick answer behind Raina's call, prominent voices in Harsha Bhogle and Aakash Chopra urged people to respect the cricketer's privacy.
"Unless you can confirm what the ‘personal’ reasons are, it’s damn unprofessional to speculate," wrote Chopra over Twitter. "Don’t try joining the dots that might not exist. Thoughts and prayers with Raina and family....and it won’t be a bad idea to respect someone’s privacy for once."
Bhogle echoed Chopra's sentiment, apart from wishing Raina well and stressing how "intertwined" he is to the Super Kings.
"Heart goes out to @ImRaina who is having to miss out on the #Dream11IPL for personal reasons. Having spoken to him recently on @cricbuzz, I know how desperate he was to do well. Huge blow to @ChennaiIPL. They have the resources to recover but then Raina and CSK are so intertwined," wrote Bhogle.
The IPL 2020 is scheduled to kickstart on September 19.
