Chennai Super Kings started their practice on Friday (September 4, 2020) as the latest set of tests conducted on Thursday came as negative.
“The training starts 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.” said CSK’s CEO KS Viswanathan.
Earlier, the Chennai based team had a setback with 11 support members, and two players were tested positive for COVID-19. And this created an extended quarantine period for CSK members. CSK was the only team which hadn’t hit the nets for this IPL season so far.
To add more to the setback, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have opted themselves out from this season due to personal reasons. This had added even more upset to the CSK fans who were eagerly waiting to witness their stars performing after a break.
The photos and videos coming out of CSK’s practice session have brought the smiles back to the ardent CSK fans.
Except for the CSK team, all the other teams have started practicing. The players of other franchises are a step ahead of CSK players as of now. They would have got their cricketing touchback. Batsmen of other franchises might hit the level where picking of length and line became normal. Bowlers would have vibrated with their rhythm.
But the CSK players have just got exposed to outside conditions. It will take time to adapt to the cricket conditions first and then to the UAE conditions, which is comparatively slower to other venues.
Albeit CSK is filled with experience and skill sets, getting back to the road might not be a considerable obstacle to cross for them. MS Dhoni, the skipper with his smartness, knows how to extract the best output from his fellow mates. And at the same time, with the experienced coaches and support staff, we could expect high intensity in their practice sessions.
The only thing that worries the CSK camp right now would be Deepak Chahar’s current state. An amazing T20 bowler- swings the new ball in both the ways and a handy customer in the death overs. He is still on quarantine as he was tested positive. So Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, the whippersnapper, who was also tested positive, had to wait for the two tests held by the end of the next week. Until that, they both have to wait for the net-sessions along with the 11 supporting staff, who were also tested positive and been in quarantine.
As the Proteas players Faf Du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi have set their foot on UAE by September 1 they have been said to have six days quarantine, and they are all set to hit the nets on September 8 if they tested negative for the next two tests.
Once these four players join the squad to practice, it would be a worthier look for the coaches and support staff. Let’s hope for the best.
