You will be surely missed: Watson on Raina’s exit from IPL 2020

New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shane Watson shared a heartfelt message for his teammate Suresh Raina, who pulled out of IPL 2020, saying that the star of IPL will be “surely missed”.

Former India batsman Suresh Raina, who recently announced retirement from international cricket, had to pull off his name from this year’s IPL on Saturday.

Raina left the CSK’s camp in the UAE to travel back home due to personal reasons and will not be participating in the upcoming season of IPL, which kicks off next month.

It was also revealed on Saturday that Suresh Raina’s relatives in Punjab’s Pathankot were attacked by robbers in the midnight of August 19. Four of the relatives got injured, while one died in the incident.

“I woke up this morning to a really sad news that Suresh Raina is heading back to India for personal reasons. My heart goes out to you Suresh, I hope you are going okay mate. You are gonna be surely missed at CSK,” Shane Watson said in a video posted on his Instagram handle.

“You have been here since the start. You are the heart of the team and you are also gonna be missed by IPL tournament as well. You are such a star of the IPL but most important is your well-being and I hope you are gonna be okay,” he added.

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A total of 13 Covid-19 cases, including two players have been confirmed at the CSK camp which has derailed the franchise’s return to training camp in the UAE.

The former Australian all-rounder further pledged that he would do everything possible to make sure IPL “the best T20 tournament in the world” goes ahead successfully. Hinting towards the positive Covid-19 cases in the team.

Talking about the COVID-19 cases in the CSK camp, Watson said that the situation has made everyone realise how important the protocols set by BCCI are.

“It’s been interesting time to be locked down again for another seven days but this is the ever changing world that we live in. We all have to do everything we can to stay safe and limit the chances of Covid-19 spreading throughout the IPL because this is the best T20 tournament in the world, all players and everyone, all the fans want it to go ahead. I will do, and I know we all will do whatever we have to be able to make sure that the IPL goes ahead,” the former Australia batsman said.

“It is a situation that has made everyone realise how integral and important it is for everyone to stick by the BCCI and IPL protocols. To make sure that something like this is just a little hiccup to start things off, fingers crossed nothing like this happens in the rest of the tournament and it goes on as seamlessly as possible,” Shane Watson added.

The IPL is scheduled to being on September 19 and will be played in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. (UNI)