Chennai Super Kings owner and former BCCI boss N Srinivasan has clarified his stand on Suresh Raina’s departure from the IPL on Monday, 31 August, saying an earlier interview ‘put two and two together to drive a wedge’.
On Sunday, Outlook quoted N Srinivasan as saying, "Cricketers are like prima donnas ... like the temperamental actors of the olden days. Chennai Super Kings have always been like a family and all seniors players have learnt to co-exist”.
The news piece also suggested that Raina pulled out of the IPL as he was unhappy with the room he was allotted in Dubai where he had been quarantining – like the rest of the CSK squad – since the team landed on 21 August. According to the report, Raina wanted a similar room to Dhoni’s as his room did not have ‘proper balconies'.
While Suresh Raina has continued to remain silent since his departure from Dubai, his CSK boss has now spoken out to say his comments were misconstrued.
"These boys, they’re family. They’ve been family for over a decade now. When I said ‘cricketers are like prima donnas’, it wasn’t in a negative sense. A prima donna is the lead singer in an opera. Similarly, cricketers are always at the forefront of an exercise like this," Srinivasan clarified to The Times of India.
Srinivasan also added that “the franchise will always stand by him and he has our complete support during these times of distress".
Raina’s Family Attacked
While Suresh Raina himself is yet to make a statement, there have been reports that an attack on his family could be one of the reasons behind his decision to return to India on Saturday.
Raina's 58-year-old uncle succumbed to fatal injuries sustained during an attack by armed robbers in a Punjab town.
A group of four members of the notorious 'Kale Kachhewala' gang had attacked Raina’s family while they were fast asleep on the terrace of their residence, the police said. The incident occurred in Thariyal village near Madhopur in Pathankot district on the night of 19 August.
The cricketer's uncle was identified as Ashok Kumar, a government contractor who had sustained grievous head injuries during the assault. His 80-year-old mother Satya Devi, his wife Asha Devi, sons – Apin and Kaushal – too suffered injuries, said the police.
It is learnt that Asha Devi, sister of Raina's father, is critical.
Positive Cases in CSK Camp
A press statement made by the BCCI on Saturday confirmed that 13 personnel involved in the IPL, including two unnamed players, tested positive for COVID-19. The BCCI didn't reveal the identities of the personnel or their team(s) but according to reports, a majority of the cases are from Chennai Super Kings contingent.
The news followed the formal announcement of Suresh Raina’s return to India that the team’s CEO KS Viswanathan confirmed on their social media handles. His statement, however, only said Raina had left for India due to ‘personal reasons’.
BCCI said they had conducted a total of 1,988 RT-PCR tests after all 8 teams landed in the UAE last week. Of this, 13 people had tested positive. They will now all go into a 14-day quarantine after which they can return to their teams if they test negative in two tests conducted 24 hours apart.
CSK’s mandatory 7-day quarantine was supposed to end on Friday but following the news of many in their contingent testing positive, the team extended their quarantine till Monday and are expected to step out for their first training session on 31 August.
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