IPL 2020: MS Dhoni leads the way as CSK depart for UAE, RCB stars pose from flight

Chennai Super Kings players are leaving for the UAE from Chennai on Friday as they gear up for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 which will be played from September 19 to November 10. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja were spotted wearing CSK’s yellow as they were heading to the Chennai airport earlier today.

MS Dhoni, who announced his international retirement on August 15, was spotted with a clean-shaven look as he smiled for the shutterbugs. Ravindra Jadeja, who reached Chennai on Thursday, also joined the batch of CSK players who will be landing in the UAE on Friday. A few of the players were wearing customised masks as they gear up to live cricket in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

CSK had a 5-day training camp in Chennai which ended on Thursday. It was during the training camp that Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. Suresh Raina also followed suit as he stunned the cricket fraternity by bringing the curtains down on his career.

#Yellove on the move! #WhistlePodu ???? pic.twitter.com/OUgEnXkIxT

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 21, 2020

Earlier in the day, CSK opener Shane Watson took to social media to share a glimpse of his live in isolation in the UAE. Watson has been given a hotel room in Dubai with a view of the Burj Khalifa as he became one of the first from the franchise to arrive in the UAE.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will join the team in UAE a week later due to personal reasons while the likes of Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi will land in the UAE in the first week of September. Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Santner will head to the UAE after completing their Caribbean Premier League commitments as the tournament ends on September 10.

RCB to arrive in the UAE on Friday

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore took to social media to share a photograph of their players from a UAE-bound chartered plane. However, captain Virat Kohli was missing in the photograph.

Earlier on Thursday RCB chairman Sajeev Churiwala said there is pressure on the franchise as they haven’t managed to win a title yet.

UAE calling! ??????

The Royal Challengers are all set to take-off!

Drop a ?? if you’re happy to see the RCB fam together again! #PlayBold #TravelDays #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/nHLj6TUegV

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 21, 2020

Players will be in isolation for 6 days after they reach the UAE. All players, domestic and overseas, will have to undergo 5 tests before entering the biosecure bubble, the BCCI had said in its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document. Players and support staff will have to undergo tests every 5th day after entering the biosecure bubble.

After two successful COVID-19 PCR tests, 24 hours apart, players will be allowed to fly to the UAE. Players will be put up in hotels and will be in quarantine during which they will give 3 more Covid-19 tests over 6 days.