KM Asif
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan on Thursday rubbished the reports that claimed that bowler KM Asif had breached the bio-secure bubble in the UAE.
Indian Express reported that Asif had misplaced his hotel room key and had stepped outside to get it replaced. But Viswanathan clarified that he had gone to the desk assigned to help the players in the hotel area.
"I don't know if facts have been checked because while there is a reception in the lobby, the staff attending to the CSK unit is different. Asif obviously would not go and speak to the general staff. The boys know that there is a dedicated team working with the players. The fact he lost the key and went and asked for a replacement is true. But he didn't go to the regular staff working and went to the designated desk. The matter has been blown out of proportion and facts need to be kept in mind," Viswanathan told ANI.
"We all know the gravity of the situation and how the coronavirus is deadly. In fact, I myself have not entered the floors where the players and support staff are staying. Their bubble is different from the bubble created for the officials.
"We are taking as much precautions as humanly possible. The players have undergone 14 tests so far and Asif too has been part of them and he is negative. Now, we cannot ask every staff member in the hotel to be a part of the bubble, but let me inform you that they are all being regularly tested."
Meanwhile, CSK will be taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday in Dubai. Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo have been declared fit for selection. CSK won the season opener ahainst Mumbai Indians but successive defeats in their next two matches saw the three-time winners slip to the bottom end of the points table.
