As many as 12 members of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus pandemic. This will come as a huge blow to the Chennai-based franchise who was supposed to start training in Dubai from Friday. As per the sources of Times of India, the names of the player, support staff, and officials, who have tested positive have not yet known. It was learned that the members had tested positive after they landed in Dubai.

As a result, CSK now has to extend its quarantine period for another week. The Super Kings reached Dubai last week on August 21 and they had already completed the mandatory six-day quarantine period put in place by the IPL. The tournament is scheduled to kick off on September 19.

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Some of the reports have also suggested that the entire CSK squad, including support staff and officials, had to undergo their fourth Covid-19 test on Friday. The BCCI had mandated the teams to go through a minimum of three coronaviruses upon reaching the UAE before they could start practicing. The result of the fourth Covid-19 test of CSK players will only be known on Saturday.

One of the sources of the TOI also stated that CSK had taken all the necessary precautions upon reaching Dubai. The source explained, “Even when football started in Europe, a few players had tested positive. So with eight IPL teams and over 1000 members, this was a possibility. This could have happened to any team. It is just unlucky that it has happened to CSK despite taking all kinds of precautions.”

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The IPL 2020 is scheduled to commence on September 19 with a tournament opener scheduled to be taking place between CSK and defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI). The final of the tournament is slated to be taking place on November 10.