|| Desk Report ||

Chennai Super Kings’ star player Suresh Raina thinks the 13th edition of Indian Premier League which is scheduled to take place in the UAE amid the COVID-19 pandemic will pose a lot of challenges for the players.

This year the league has been shifted to the UAE from India because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and will be played in three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah — from September 19 to November 10 with all the rules and regulations by the ICC and BCCI.

“This IPL would be very interesting to see how the players are thinking,” Suresh Raina said in a webinar after being named as the global brand ambassador for WTF Sports app. “You are playing in different circumstances and you have a lot of protocol from ICC and at the same time you are going to go through (COVID-19) tests every two-three weeks.”

”So, I would say coming out from all those tests you need to be clear with your head on what you are going to do on the field because at the end of the day when you are playing a sport, you need to enjoy the game,” Raina said.

“In this pandemic, a lot of challenges have happened (for the players) and fitness is the key. Luckily, we are going early to the UAE. I believe, this all tests will be done before the IPL and we will be in a good frame of mind because we all are sitting at home from last five months and it will be interesting to see how we fare on the field,” he further added. “Everyone is going to enjoy the game and when you will enjoy the game you will have the best sporting event. I’m looking forward to it.”