Chennai, Aug 14: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans have something to cheer about as their beloved 'Thala' Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back in the town to begin their preparations for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
MS Dhoni along with his CSK pacer Monu Kumar tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday (August 13). Having returned negative, the CSK skipper, as well as his fellow teammates Suresh Raina, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Karn Sharma, Kedar Jadhav on Friday, joined him to board the chartered flight to arrive in Chennai.
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The Chennai Super Kings' social media handle started sharing the pictures of their star cricketers' arrival in Chennai on Friday. At the airport, Dhoni could be seen sporting the 'Yellow' of Chennai Super Kings and also wearing a military camouflage face mask as per the standard guidelines due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 39-year-old is an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Paramilitary Army. Dhoni started his IPL 2020 preparations back in March but he had to return due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Super Kings will now participate in a training camp at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for a week before leaving for the UAE on August 22.
Here are the pictures:
The CSK players took a selfie with the staff of the chartered plane.
#StartTheWhistles 🥳🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/jU2ZPf56Nv
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 14, 2020
Pune boys Kedar Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad also arrived in Chennai.
Pune boys making all the noise! Kedar and Ruturaj are back in the #HomeSweetDen! #StartTheWhistles #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/Ntomj624wg
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 14, 2020
The Masketeers! #StartTheWhistles #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/EP6Ww554S5
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 14, 2020
Earlier on August 12, an official with the MicroPraxis Labs, a part of the Guru Nanak Hospital and Research Centre which is authorised to conduct RT-PCR tests for Covid-19, told they have collected the samples from Dhoni at his farmhouse in Ranchi.
However, this is only the first in a series of tests to be conducted for cricketers ahead of IPL 2020, scheduled to begin on September 19 in the UAE. The players will have to enter a bio-secure bubble after arriving at the Emirates and there will be further Covid 19 tests prior to the event.
It may be recalled that the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday (August 12) had announced that their fielding coach Dishant Yagnik was tested positive for Covid 19. Meanwhile, Karun Nair returned negative for Covid 19 and is expected to leave to UAE along with the Kings XI Punjab team.