CHENNAI: In a big blow to Chennai Super Kings, their all-time leading run-scorer Suresh Raina will miss the entire edition of the upcoming IPL season because of personal reasons.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan in a statement issued on Saturday morning said: "Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time."
This comes a day after it came to light that 10 members of CSK contingent on Dubai had tested positive for Covid-19.
Raina's absence means Chennai can seek a replacement immediately. It is understood that while Raina would have been able to join the team at a later stage of the tournament, it would have been a long shot given the protocols in place. To re-enter the bio-secure bubble will first need him to spend a quarantine period followed by series of COVID-19 tests.