BY SACNILK

Former India player and veteran off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh has withdrawn his name for the Chennai Super Kings' squad and pulled out from the Indian Premier League 2020 stating the personal reasons. Harbhajan Singh has conveyed his decision to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday (September 4).## The 40-year old has become the second CSK player after Suresh Raina to decide to the tournament, citing personal reasons. However, Suresh Raina in a recent interview had hinted that he might return to play the IPL 2020 for CSK. He had returned home after traveling with the team to the UAE. ## Harbhajan Singh had remained in India. The development comes on the back of some positive news for the Chennai franchise. On Thursday night, all CSK players, barring the two earlier positive cases, had tested negative for coronavirus in a follow-up test that was conducted. The two infected players will undergo a COVID-19 test after completing a 14-day quarantine period. ## Last week, as many as 13 CSK members had tested positive for the coronavirus which forced the team to extend their quartine time for one more week till 31st August. Out of 13, Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad were the two players who tested positive for the virus. ## All other teams have started training for the 13th edition of the IPL except CSK. The three-time IPL champions had arrived in the UAE along with defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on August 21.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Chennai Super Kings' talisman, Suresh Raina had surprised everyone by withdrawing his name from the CSK squad for the IPL 2020. He put the personal reasons behind this tough decision.## Raina, however, the other day had thrown some light on sudden exit from the tournament by breaking his silence on the death of his uncle Ashok Kumar and one of his cousins, following an attack by robbers in Punjab's Pathankot district on August 19 and 20.## In an interview with Cricbuzz, Raina speaks up on why he came back to India and also dismisses reports of there being a rift between him and Chennai Super Kings after N Srinivasan's comments about him. The former India player also hints at the possibility of returning in the IPL 2020 for CSK which he terms his family. ## "It was a personal decision and I had to come back for my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately on the home front. CSK is my family too and Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni) is very important to me and this was a tough decision. There is no issue between CSK and me. Nobody will just turn their back on Rs 12.5 crore and walk away without a solid reason. I might have retired from international cricket but I'm still young and I am looking forward to playing for them in the IPL for the next 4-5 years", Raina told Cricbuzz. ## When asked about his reaction to the critical comments on him made by CSK's owner N Srinivasan, Raina said that N Srinivasan is like a father to him and he can scold his son. ## "He is like a father figure to me and he's always stood by me and is close to my heart. He treats me like his younger son and am sure a lot of what he said was taken out of context. Ek baap apne bacche ko daant sakta hai(A father can scold his son). He didn't know the real reasons for me leaving when he gave those comments. Now he's been informed about them and he even sent me a message thereafter. We've chatted about it and both CSK and I just want to get over with it". ## Hinting at the possibility of his returning to play the IPL 2020, he said, "I've been training even while quarantining here. You never know you might see me in the camp there again". ## Raina also stated that the team management and the BCCI are a commendable job by keeping up everyone safe in a situation which is new for everyone. "It's a highly secure environment and no one without access can move anywhere. We were all inside our rooms with no human interaction and there was a test every 2 days", the left-hander said. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Under the current circumstances and in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, cricket around the world is being played without the crowd on the ground. The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League 2020 which will start from September 19 will be no different. ## However, the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has hinted that the later on in the tournament, 30% crowd may be allowed with the proper social distancing and testing. ## Speaking to the Press Trust of India, the former India captain said, "Because of Covid and the infection, you don't want people to be too close to each other, but very soon you will see there will be 30% people in the ground with social distancing. They will be properly tested and allowed to enter the ground. But I think that is going to happen over a period of time". ## With people not coming in the ground, the BCCI President also referring the Broadcasters of the tournament, stating that Star India, who paid INR 16347 crores for five-years of broadcast rights, are expecting higher ratings for this edition.## "Crowds will watch it on television... They [broadcasters] are actually expecting the highest rating of IPL this season because they believe if [fans] don't turn up in the ground, they will be actually watching on their television sets", Ganguly said.## Ganguly also said that holding the IPL was important to ensure a sense of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused disruption in every aspect of daily life.## "This is just a virus which is already weakening and we will hopefully get past it. These are small bumps in our life, and we have to get past it. We could have easily avoided the IPL…but then, that's what we humans are and that's why we have survived all the difficult times".## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Former India cricketer, Suresh Raina's sudden exit from the Indian Premier League 2020 even before the start of the tournament had left everyone shocked. But now, the CSK player has thrown some light on his hasty return to India by breaking his silence on the death of his uncle Ashok Kumar, following an attack by robbers in Punjab's Pathankot district on the night intervening August 19 and 20. ## In a series of Tweets, Raina broke out his silence on the horrific attack which led his uncle and one of his cousins to death while his Bua (aunty) and cousin had severe injuries. Addressing the Punjab Police and CM, Capt. Amarinder Singh, Raina wants to know about the criminals whom Punjab Police couldn't catch yet even after days. ## "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", Raina said in a Tweet. ## "Till date we don’t know what exactly had happened that night & who did this. I request @PunjabPoliceInd to look into this matter. We at least deserve to know who did this heinous act to them. Those criminals should not be spared to commit more crimes. @capt_amarinder @CMOPb", he added. ## Till date we don’t know what exactly had happened that night & who did this. I request @PunjabPoliceInd to look into this matter. We at least deserve to know who did this heinous act to them. Those criminals should not be spared to commit more crimes. @capt_amarinder @CMOPb— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 1, 2020 ## Earlier, on August 29, the cricketer had withdrawn his name and left Chennai Super Kings' bio-secure bubble in UAE on short notice, where the team is preparing from the 13th edition of the IPL.## The CSK's team owner N Srinivasan told The Indian Express that "His (Raina) surprise departure from the Chennai Super Kings squad in Dubai notwithstanding, the franchise will stand by the player. Asked if Raina would return to the CSK fold next year, Srinivasan said, "See, next year is next year. He is a great player. He is very important to CSK and CSK will stand by him".## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has accepted the fact that it won't be easy for the players to play without the crowd in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League which is scheduled to start on September 19 in the UAE. ## The RCB captain did acknowledge that the cricket field would be a significantly 'stranger' place from the last time he was on it. However, Kohli suggests that the crowd factor will diminish as the tournament will progress. ## "I won't deny the fact that it's going to be difficult initially," Virat told The Bold Diaries on the RCB channel. "It is going to be strange. Just the echo of the ball hitting the bat. I haven't experienced that since playing Ranji Trophy cricket back in 2010. It is the last time I experienced it, so for 10 years, I haven't had a game where I'm not hearing the crowd.## "We have done this at some stage in our lives. It's important to remember that rather than saying 'But oh I'm used to this now and I won't do it if there's no crowd'. We have done it in the past, even in those games we played, you wanted to perform and play for the love of the game. The crowd factor will play a part but once you get into the game, the instincts will kick in and the crowd factor will diminish pretty quickly." ## It is not only playing in the empty stands but players also might take some time to get back into the rhythm as many of them haven't played cricket for some time, especially Indian players. However, Kohli who last played competitively six months ago at Christchurch Test against New Zealand has confessed that the COVID-enforced break from cricket was most opportune and that he didn't miss the game as much as he thought he might. ## "Things were okay. I didn't miss the game as much as I thought I might. Maybe because I'd been going on for 9-10 years before that and this was the only break I was ever going to get that long. It was a revelation for me as well. It was surprising that my focus was not solely on how I'm missing the game all the time and you know just carrying on with life, doing other things, and understanding that this is just a part of life", he said.## "Couple of months [ago] you couldn't imagine you'd have IPL firstly. Then things started opening up and things started getting together and then we saw other tournaments taking place. So got a bit of confidence from that. Now when we had our practice session yesterday is the time I realized how long it has been. When I was heading to the practice session, I felt nervous, I felt a bit jittery ..."## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The online learning platform, Unacademy has been associated with the Indian Premier League for three years as an official partner, The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) announced on Saturday (August 29). ## The Bengaluru-based edutech firm will be the official partner of the IPL starting from the Dream 11 IPL 2020 edition which is scheduled to start on September 19 in the UAE, with their partnership with the T20 league covering three seasons. ## "We are pleased to have Unacademy on board as the 'Official Partner' of the Indian Premier League 2020 to 2022. IPL Is the most-watched cricket league in India and as a homegrown Indian edutech company we believe that Unacademy can create a huge positive impact on the aspirations of the audience watching, especially the millions of Indian youth who are seeking inspiration in their careers," said Brijesh Patel, chairman of the IPL.## "We are delighted to become the Official Partner of IPL. Unacademy is a high-intensity brand that has disrupted the education and learning market with innovations and broken geographical barriers for Learners and Educators. The IPL has a similar history of disruption and innovation that have not only brought cricket fans closer to the game but also catapulted it to become one of the top sporting events in the world", said Karan Shroff, VP - Marketing, Unacademy.## "With this partnership, we will double-down on our efforts to make Unacademy the biggest brand in the consumer internet space in India. We thank the BCCI and IPL for the opportunity and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership", he added. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Coming as a massive set back for Chennai Super Kings, Suresh Raina will miss the entire season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 due to personal reasons. The franchise has confirmed the news on Twitter. ## "Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time. KS Viswanathan, CEO", read the tweet. ## Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time.KS ViswanathanCEO— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 29, 2020 ## The 33-year-old, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, traveled with the CSK squad to Dubai on August 21. He had also been part of a five-day pre-departure camp in Chennai along with captain MS Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ambati Rayudu, M Vijay and bowling consultant Laxmipathy Balaji. ## Suresh Raina missing IPL 2020, is a significant blow for the three-time IPL champions, CSK. He has been CSK's backbone over the years and also the team's leading run-getter, aggregating 4527 runs from 164 IPL games for the franchise. The No.3 batsman featured in 158 consecutive games for CSK (IPL + CPL) before missing his first game in the 2018 season with a calf injury. ## Earlier, Chennai Super Kings extended its quarantine period for one more week after a few members from the team tested positive for the COVID-19. Today (August 29), the coronavirus positive tally of the CSK team increased as Ruturaj Gaekwad also caught the COVID-19. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The coronavirus has caught the Chennai Super Kings' support staff as multiple members of the team tested positive. According to reports, as many as 10 members from support staff and one Indian player have found positive for the COVID-19. ## The team landed in Dubai on August 21 and upon completion of the mandatory six-day quarantine, were supposed to start training from Friday (August 28). But now, with coronavirus has hit the team, according to reports, CSK has extended its quarantine period for one more week and will only begin training from September 1. ## As per the Standard Operating Procedures that need to be followed during the IPL, all persons associated with the tournament would undergo a test upon arrival in the UAE. This would be followed by tests on days 1, 3, and 5 of their quarantine period at the team hotel, and only after testing negative in all three would the players be allowed to train. ## The Super Kings, before their arrival in the UAE, had held a five-day training camp in Chennai. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Piyush Chawla, and Shardul Thakur were all part of the camp, as was bowling coach L Balaji.## Earlier, Rajasthan Royals fielding coach, Dishant Yagnik has tested positive for the coronavirus and was advised to get admitted to a hospital for his 14-day quarantine.## The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 20 to November 10 after it was decided that the tournament will not be held in India this year keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in mind. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Fantasy cricket platform Dream 11 has bagged the title sponsorship for the Indian Premier League 2020 with a winning bid of INR 222 crore.## Dream 11 beat Unacademy (INR 171 crore) and Byju's (INR 201 crore) to clinch the deal which will run from 18 August to 31 December 2020, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed to Cricbuzz. ## Earlier, BCCI had suspended the VIVO's title sponsorship for the year 2020. VIVO had signed a five-year deal in 2018 worth INR 2199 crore, which earned BCCI about INR 440 crore a season.## According to the revenue sharing agreement between BCCI and IPL franchise owners in 2018, the teams earned 50 percent of the income from the central rights - including broadcast, title, and other sponsorship deals struck by the board.## This means approximately INR 111 crore will be split between the franchises for this season, which is about half of the amount (INR 220 crore) received from the VIVO's sponsorship .## This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in the coronavirus cases in India, IPL will be played in the UAE from 19 Septemeber to 10 November.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Board Of Cricket Control In India (BCCI) has officially suspended the title sponsorship with the Chinese mobile company Vivo for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League amid soaring India-China diplomatic tensions. ## BCCI, without giving any details sent out the one-line statement to say that the Vivo will not be associated with the IPL 2020. ## "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020", the press release stated. ## FYI, Vivo won the title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of ₹2190 crore, approximately ₹440 crores per annum. Now, with Vivo is no longer hold the sponsorship rights for this year's IPL, BCCI likely to float a tender for the new title sponsors. ## As it was earlier decided, the IPL 2020 has moved to the UAE due to the rising COVID-19 cases in India. The tournament will kick-start from September 19 with the final set to be played on November 10. ## BCCI has made some changes for this year's IPL regarding the match timings, the number of the players per team squad, and a few others. Read Here... ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, is all set to kick-off from September 19 with the final to be played on November 10 in the UAE. It will be the longest 8-team IPL edition which is 53-days long. ## Following the IPL Governing Council meeting on Sunday (August 2), that matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India. It is important that the Sports Ministry of India has given a go-ahead to the tournament while the approvals from the Home Ministry and Ministry of External Affairs are expected soon. ## The IPL governing council has also given a nod to the 3 sides Women's T20 Challenge for the 4-matches that will take place during the IPL play-off week from 1-10 September.## Some key decisions were taken in the meeting today, meanwhile -## => The night matches will start at 19:30 IST instead of the 20:00 IST while the afternoon ones at 15:30 IST instead of 16:00 IST. ## => All the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. ## => There will be a total of 10 double-headers. ## => Maximum 24 players to be allowed in the squad per team. ## => Unlimited Covid-19 Substitutes.## => Four matches of the Women's T20 Challenge will take place during the IPL play-off week to be played by three teams.## => VIVO to continue to be the sponsorship partners of the IPL 2020. ## "The Governing Council also discussed the comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which will be finalized and published in due course, including the agencies to execute and deliver a bio-secure environment for the safe and successful conduct of IPL 2020 Season," said the statement. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Sunday (August 2) that an expended women's T20 challenge is in the process and will be played during the men's IPL 2020 playoffs week from 1-10 November in the UAE. However, just like the men's IPL, the tournament will need the government of India clearances. ## Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI), Sourav Ganguly said, "I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also".## BCCI is also planning a series in South Africa and in West Indies as build-up assignments before the women's World Cup 2021 in New Zealand after the Women's T20 Challange. ## The T20 challenge, should it go ahead in the aforementioned window, significantly minimizes the chances of Indian representation in this year's Women's Big Bash League which is slated to begin from October 17 to November 29. ## It is very likely that the top Australian cricketers may not participate in the women's T20 challenge for the second year in a row. Last year as well, cricket Australia did not allow its women's contracted players to participate owing to a men's bilateral series dispute with the BCCI.## Last year, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhan, and Mithali Raj led three teams in the second edition of the tournament which was played in Jaipur, Rajasthan during the playoffs week of men's IPL 2019. ## Stay tuned...