At least 10 members of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) contingent have tested positive for Covid-19, one of them being an India player, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The development means CSK have now extended their quarantine period as well as postponed the start of their training sessions. The report suggests the positive results are from tests conducted on the fifth day of their mandatory six-day self-isolation period in Dubai.
They are now expected to hold their first training session in the UAE on September 1, whereas previously they were scheduled to start training on Friday (August 28).
The Chennai-based franchise were the only side to conduct an official training camp before flying out to the UAE. Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians, however, did have training sessions arranged for their players ahead of the Dubai move.
While KXIP’s Karnataka-based players trained under the watchful eyes of Anil Kumble in Bangalore, Mumbai Indians arranged training for a section of their players at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai.
The five-day CSK camp saw the senior Indian contingent of the squad, with the major exceptions of Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, assemble in Chennai before moving to the UAE.
The CSK management was reluctant to conduct the camp initially, especially with Chennai being one of the worst-affected Indian cities from Covid-19. “When we announced the tournament is going to happen,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told their official website, “I had reservations about conducting the camp here because the bio-bubble had to be created.
“In fact, I sent a message to him [Dhoni] whether it will be worthwhile having a camp for five days before going to Dubai. But the captain was crystal clear in his thoughts. He said, ‘Sir, we have not played for nearly 4-5 months. All of us need to get together in Chennai. We should be in a bio-bubble in Chennai so that we get used to that when we land in Dubai’.”
