Suresh Raina's sudden decision to pull out from the IPL in the UAE citing "personal reasons" continues to be shrouded in a veil of secrecy about which none in the Chennai Super Kings ranks is willing to talk about.
Sources, however, have told The Telegraph that there was a "serious breach of discipline" inside the bio-security bubble at Taj Dubai, where the team is staying, which led to the cricketer leaving at the earliest.
"There was a serious breach of discipline. A chartered aircraft was arranged for and he left at the break of dawn on Saturday. This was after an agency official attached to the franchise reported about the breach of discipline to the team management," the source told The Telegraph.
The franchise's CEO, Kasi Viswanathan, didn't respond to calls from The Telegraph while others refused any further clarification to the statement released earlier.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and co-owner N. Srinivasan were kept in the loop right through, according to the source. None intervened since the CSK's credibility was at stake.
Raina has been part of the CSK set-up since the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 and is their highest run-getter. His annual retainership is around Rs 12 crore.
"Once Dhoni made it clear that he didn't support the discipline breach in these times of distress, it became easier for CSK to act. After all, Dhoni has the final say when it comes to team matters at CSK," the source maintained.
There's talk that it was Dhoni's decision to not have Raina for the entire season and rely on some of the promising youngsters in the side.
This was a day after an India pacer and several members of the support staff tested positive for Covid-19 after arrival in Dubai. Raina, who had been disturbed by a family tragedy before leaving for the emirate, had complained of "feeling lonely" amid the scare of rising positive cases within the CSK contingent.
CSK hasn't officially asked for a replacement and is banking heavily on Ruturaj Gaikwad to fill in Raina's shoes. That Dhoni has remained his usual calm self in the face of such a crisis has given a boost to the franchise's morale.
"Once Raina realises what he's missing he will be keen |to come back to the fold. But |he has to convince Dhoni before garnering the support |of the management," the source said.The IPL governing council hasn't declared the fixtures but if all goes well, CSK will be ready to play the traditional opener - defending champions Mumbai Indians vs the previous year's runner-up.
"They are expected to begin practice around September 4. Around two weeks of practice should be good enough for the players. Moreover, even if they don't play the opener they will have to take part another 2/3 days later. So it doesn't make much of a difference," said someone tracking the developments.
