Suresh Raina, my heart goes out to you: Shane Watson on Chennai Super Kings teammate’s exit from IPL 2020

It’s been a gloomy few days for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad which is in UAE currently for the IPL 2020. The last two days have seen 13 of its members, including 2 players being tested positive for the novel coronavirus. When this looked like the only massive problem, team’s star batsman Suresh Raina had to leave for India and pull out of entire season because of some “personal reasons”.

Suresh Raina, IPL’s second-most highest run-scorer is one of the major cogwheels of the CSK setup. The recently-retired cricketer over his 12 years in the cash-rich league has established himself as one of the biggest names and enjoys a massive fan following, especially in Tamil Nadu. The state which is home to CSK has given him the famous title of ‘Chinna Thala’.

Fans and his teammates were left heartbroken after getting the news of his departure from UAE and exit from IPL 2020. In a heartfelt video message CSK all-rounder Shane Watson said that Suresh Raina, the star of IPL and heart of the team, will be “surely missed”.

“I woke up this morning to a really sad news that Suresh Raina is heading back to India for personal reasons. My heart goes out to you Suresh, I hope you are going okay mate. You are gonna be surely missed at CSK.

“You have been here since the start. You are the heart of the team and you are also gonna be missed by IPL tournament as well. You are such a star of the IPL but most important is your well-being and I hope you are gonna be okay,” Shane Watson said in a video posted on his Instagram handle.

Later on Saturday, it was also revealed that Suresh Raina’s relatives in Punjab’s Pathankot were attacked by robbers in the midnight of August 19. Four of the relatives got injured, while one died in the incident.

The former Australian all-rounder further pledged that he would do everything possible to make sure IPL, “the best T20 tournament in the world” goes ahead successfully. Hinting towards the positive Covid-19 cases in the team, the 39-year-old added that the situation has made everyone realise how important the protocols set by BCCI are.

“It’s been interesting time to be locked down again for another seven days but this is the ever changing world that we live in. We all have to do everything we can to stay safe and limit the chances of Covid-19 spreading throughout the IPL because this is the best T20 tournament in the world, all players and everyone, all the fans want it to go ahead. I will do, and I know we all will do whatever we have to be able to make sure that the IPL goes ahead.

“It is a situation that has made everyone realise how integral and important it is for everyone to stick by the BCCI and IPL protocols. To make sure that something like this is just a little hiccup to start things off, fingers crossed nothing like this happens in the rest of the tournament and it goes on as seamlessly as possible,” Shane Watson added.