Reports | CSK aiming to fly to UAE in early-August to hold one-month training camp
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are reportedly eyeing a one-month camp in the UAE ahead of the IPL and are said to be leaving for the country in early-August in order to get a strong preparatory camp ahead of the tournament. The franchise are believed to be awaiting government permission for the same.
Almost six months after their first preparatory camp got squashed by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are said to be eager to fly to UAE as soon as possible in order to hold a month-long training camp ahead of the tournament that is slated to begin on September 19. According to an ESPNCricinfo report, the CSK players have apparently been informed that they will convene at Chennai, after which they will fly to Dubai via a charter flight. The club, as per the report, is looking to make this happen as early as possible, but they will, of course, require government approval for the same.
The Indian government are, in fact, yet to give the nod for the IPL to take place in the UAE and that remains the last barrier in shifting the 2020 edition of the tournament to the gulf. Brijesh Patel, the chairman of the IPL, however, attested with confidence last week that the government clearance ‘will come’. The IPL governing council will also meet on Sunday, August 2, in which a host of issues will be discussed, not least the logistical challenges shifting the tournament to the UAE will pose.
The report from ESPNCricinfo further added that a vast majority of the franchises have requested permission to land in UAE by August 20 or 21, which will, in turn, give them almost a month of preparation ahead of the tournament. Preparation might play an important role in the tournament, for over 80% of the players who will partake in the tournament will head into the competition with no match practice for over five months.