IPL 2020: MS Dhoni faces Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla as CSK begin training in Dubai

Chennai Super Kings finally began their training sessions in the UAE on Friday after all their members, barring 13, tested negative for the novel coronavirus. 2 players, who are part of the said 13 members who tested positive for the virus after arrival in Dubai, will be allowed to return to training only after their mandatory 14-day quarantine period and 2 negative tests.

It was a big relief for Chennai Super Kings who were deal with a big blow on Friday as their senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh pulled out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, citing ‘personal reasons’. Harbhajan became the 2nd player after Suresh Raina to withdraw from the tournament.

Under lights at the ICC Academy in Dubai, it was business, as usual, for the MS Dhoni-led side. The skipper led from the front as he was seen batting at the nets, facing the likes of Raavindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla.
Notably, Dhoni was in good touch, hitting big sixes when the team trained in Chennai during a 5-day camp before their departure to the UAE. Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on August 15, was comfortably dealing with Jadeja and Chawla.

In a clip shared by CSK on social media, Shane Watson was also looking crisp against leg-spinner Karn Sharma. Pacer Shardul Thakur was also having a roll of his arms at the nets.

CSK were the last team to begin training after arriving in the UAE as they had an extended quarantine period due to the Covid-19 cases.

With CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan saying the franchise will be open to playing the opening match, if required, BCCI sources have told India Today that the 3-time champions will square off against Mumbai Indians on the opening day.

IPL 2020 will be played from September 19 to November 10 and the fixtures for the tournament is likely to be announced on Saturday.