Suresh Raina shares heartfelt post after COVID infiltrates IPL 2021 Bio bubble

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Suresh Raina on Tuesday posted a heartfelt note after the suspension of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in India. Raina took to Twitter to share an emotional note, saying "This isn't a joke anymore!". The CSK superstar wrote that he never felt so "helpless" in life, adding, "no matter how much we want to help, but we are literally running out of resources". Raina said that every single person of this country deserves a salute for standing right by each other amid the ongoing crisis. 

India is currently battling the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raged havoc across the country for the past couple of weeks. India has been registering more than 3 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases for the past 10 days. The country recorded more than 3,82,000 new infections in the last 24 hours and as many as 3,700 people died during the same period. The cumulative total from the start of the pandemic now stands at 20 million cases and over 2,22,000 deaths across India, which is only second to the United States. 

COVID infiltrates IPL

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 virus infiltrated the IPL bio-bubble on Monday as two players from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) camp tested positive for the disease, resulting in the rescheduling of the match that was scheduled to be held later in the day between RCB and KKR. Some groundsmen in Delhi also returned positive results on Monday and later it was reported that CSK's bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji has tested positive. On Tuesday, the matter became even worse as SRH player Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals spinner Amit Mishra tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the IPL's governing council to postpone the tournament keeping in mind the safety and security of other players and stakeholders. 

It is not yet clear when the IPL will restart again, but media reports suggest that the BCCI could conduct the remaining matches of the cash-rich tournament in September this year, before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup. Reports suggest that the remainder of the tournament could be held in UAE later this year, where the ICC is also contemplating hosting the T20 World Cup in case the situation remains grim in India. 

(Image Credit: PTI)