Chennai Super Kings respond after a fan asks who'll be their vice-captain after Suresh Raina's departure

The entire cricket fraternity was left stunned after 13 personnel, including two players from the Chennai Super Kings camp tested COVID-19 positive days before the much-awaited IPL 2020, putting the tournament’s feasibility in jeopardy. To add to CSK’s woes, their vice-captain Suresh Raina also left the camp and returned home to India citing personal reasons.

CSK were jolted after receiving two major blows ahead of their IPL 2020 campaign. Post Raina’s departure, various reports started surfacing over the internet, suggesting a rift between him and CSK team management. Raina, however, denied them and eventually revealed the reason behind his ‘tough’ decision.

The left-hander shared that he had to come back for his family. His uncle and cousin were killed in an attack in Punjab. Raina took it to Twitter to reveal that his uncle had been ‘slaughtered to death’ and one of his cousins has also passed away, while his aunt is very critical and on life support.

Suresh Raina is the second-highest run-scorer in IPL history

“What happened to my family is Punjab was beyond horrible. My uncle was slaughtered to death, my bua & both my cousins had severe injuries. Unfortunately, my cousin also passed away last night after battling for life for days. My bua is still very very critical & is on life support,” tweeted Raina.

What happened to my family is Punjab was beyond horrible. My uncle was slaughtered to death, my bua & both my cousins had sever injuries. Unfortunately my cousin also passed away last night after battling for life for days. My bua is still very very critical & is on life support.

— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 1, 2020

His latest tweet confirmed his personal reasons, though the hotel rift may have been one of the other reasons to fuel his decision to back out of the tournament. In 193 IPL matches, Raina has amassed 5368 runs with his willow. He is only behind Virat Kohli in the list of highest run-scorers of the tournament.

Raina was one of the first players to kick off the preparations for IPL 2020 back at his home. He even had shared several training videos and was a part of CSK’s five-day training camp. But with the departure of ‘Chinna Thala’, CSK fans were left stunned. Many are still confused over who’ll be assigned the vice-captaincy in Raina’s truancy.

A CSK fan raised this question on Twitter tagging the Chennai franchise. CSK, however, was ready with a witty response under their sleeve. “Wise captain irukke bayam yen?” responded CSK. It means– “Why fear when wise captain is there.” The franchise’s reply was directed towards skipper MS Dhoni.

Wise captain irukke bayam yen? 🦁💛

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 2, 2020

‘Thala’ Dhoni, since the inception of the IPL, has been an integral part of CSK’s journey. CSK have been one of the most consistent sides in the tournament owing to Dhoni’s leadership and batting brilliance. With three IPL titles under his belt, Dhoni will be aiming to lift another trophy in the upcoming edition.

Chennai Super Kings were slated to lock horns with Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener on September 19th. However, considering the COVID-19 situation in the CSK camp, the BCCI might be forced to alter the tournament’s opening fixture.