Rahul Chahar to CSK's Deepak: 'Stay strong, brother, get well soon'

In a curiously worded Twitter message, Mumbai Indians legspinner Rahul Chahar has wished his cousin Deepak Chahar, of Chennai Super Kings, a "speedy recovery" and said he hoped he would "get well soon". There has been no official confirmation about what Deepak is suffering from but he is part of the Super Kings camp in Dubai, where more than ten people have tested positive for Covid-19.

Rahul Chahar, who is now in Abu Dhabi with his team, said in his Twitter message: "Stay strong brother...all my prayers for you". The tweet, posted at 8:36 pm local time (10:06 pm in India), came on a day when the Chennai camp had already been dealt a blow with the exit of senior player Suresh Raina for the duration of the tournament.

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Deepak has been central to Super Kings' attack in the past couple of seasons, often bowling in the powerplay and in the slog overs. Coming off an injury - he last played competitive cricket in December 2019 - Deepak was part of Super Kings'camp in Chennai, along with captain MS Dhoni, Raina, M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Piyush Chawla and L Balaji, the bowling coach, before flying out to the UAE.

That camp has also come in sharp focus now because it was held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, and its neighbourhood, especially Triplicane, has become a Covid-19 hotspot. There has been no direct correlation established between the camp and the positive tests, though.

The IPL is due to start on September 19, but the schedule is yet to be finalised. The setbacks in Super Kings' camp is likely to put the IPL on alert as they are expected to play defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opener.