MS Dhoni, other CSK players arrive in Dubai, gear up for IPL 2021 resumption | Watch

With the second half of IPL 2021 set to be played next month, captain MS Dhoni and some other players of Chennai Super Kings have arrived in Dubai. The Indian Premier League had been suspended in May after multiple cases of COVID-19 were reported in the bio-bubble. The tournament will resume in UAE from September 19. CSK will take on Mumbai Indians in the first match.

CSK took to Twitter to announce that the side had arrived in Dubai and is raring to go. They posted a video on their official Twitter handle with the caption, ‘Vanakkam again Dubai’.

In the video, CSK players MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Deepak Chahar can be seen getting into a plane and arriving in Dubai. In Dubai, the video gave a sneak peek of the team hotel and their entertainment room. Dhoni can be showing off his trick shots on the pool table.

After a forgettable season in 2020, CSK had come out all guns blazing this year. When the tournament was suspended, CSK were placed second in the points table having won five of their seven games.

CSK, who have 10 points, are two points behind table-toppers Delhi Capitals (DC). Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) occupy the third and fourth spot respectively.

Chennai will resume its campaign on September 19 against Mumbai Indians. The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

In UAE, a total number of 31 matches will be played in the duration of 27 days. Under the new schedule, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah and eight in Abu Dhabi.

The IPL 2021 final will take place in Dubai on October 15, just two days before the rescheduled Twenty20 World Cup gets underway, also in the Gulf.

The World T20 was originally meant to take place in Australia at the end of 2020 but it was called off as the pandemic swept across the globe causing widescale lockdowns.

It was then switched to India before it was rescheduled again to be staged in Oman and the United Arab Emirates from October 17 to November 14.