Besides the COVID-19 infected duo of Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, all other Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players will resume training from Friday (September 4) evening after clearing the third round of testing for the virus in Dubai.
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Last week, 13 members of the CSK squad were tested positive for the novel Coronavirus and the recent results came as a major relief to the franchise.
“The training starts from today. All others, apart from the 13, tested negative for the third time. Those who tested positive will only be tested after the isolation period (two weeks) is over,” CSK CEO KS Viswanathan told PTI.
Chahar, Ruturaj and 11 staff members of CSK are currently under the 14-day isolation period. They will be tested twice by the end of next week and will be allowed to train only after returning COVID-19 negative.
Right-arm pacer Chahar is a starter in CSK’s playing XI while Ruturaj is being groomed for the top-order in place of veteran Suresh Raina, who opted out of the competition last week citing “personal reasons”.
CSK starting off with their training is pleasant news for the IPL governing council as it means that their marquee opening-round clash against the Mumbai Indians on September 19 “is very much on” contrary to some media speculation.
The 2020 season of Indian Premier League will be held in UAE from September 19 to November 10.
The sixty-game event, for which a detailed itinerary is yet awaited, will be played across venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
(With PTI inputs)
