Suresh Raina, in an exclusive interview with NDTV, said that stories about him leaving the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to a row over his hotel room are “fabricated”. “These are all fabricated stories and anyone who knows me, knows that these are all stories planted by people who don’t want me or CSK to succeed,” Raina said. He also said that he had to return to India because of personal reasons and hinted that he may return to CSK for this year’s season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“You never know, you might see me in the camp again. First, I have to take care of my responsibilities here and then am ready,” Raina said when asked if he would play the IPL this season.

“It was a personal decision and I had to come back for my family. There was something that needed to be addressed immediately at the home front,” the left-hander said of his decision to leave the CSK camp in the UAE.

“CSK is my family too and Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) is most important to me and this was a tough decision but with the family back home, I had to come back for them,” he added.

Talking about CSK owner N. Srinivasan’s comments after Raina’s return to India, the franchise’s most-capped player said he is like a father figure to him.

“He is like a father figure for me and he’s always stood by me and is close to my heart, he treats me like his younger son and am sure a lot is taken out of context,” Raina said.

“He didn’t know the reason earlier and its all settled,” Raina added.

13 members of the CSK contingent in the UAE had tested positive for coronavirus, of which two were players. Speaking about the situation, Raina said CSK and the Indian cricket board were doing a commendable job and that the players were in a “highly secure environment”.

“The team management and BCCI are doing a very commendable job keeping everyone safe. This has never been done before and its new for everyone so every day is a new. It’s a highly secure environment and no one without access can move anywhere. We were all inside our rooms with no human interaction and there was a test every two days.”

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“This is a very deadly disease and even after so many precautions if staff gets infected it just says how bad it can be and it can happen to anyone,” said the former India cricketer.

The IPL is set to begin on September 19, with the final scheduled for November 10.