N Srinivasan, the Chennai Super Kings owner, moved to limit the damage in their troubled build up to the IPL in the UAE as he attempted to clarify criticism of Suresh Raina.
Raina, who is the leading runscorer in CSK’s history, left the team hotel in Dubai on Saturday morning and flew home to India. He will miss the entire 2020 IPL season.
He was reportedly concerned by issues related to the bio-secure bubble in which the teams are placed in order to guard against the spread of coronavirus. He had also suffered a family bereavement.
A number of CSK personnel have tested positive for Covid-19, including two players – Deepak Chahar, the India fast bowler, and young batting prospect Ruturaj Gaekwad.
In announcing Raina’s departure at the weekend, CSK’s chief executive KS Viswanathan cited “personal reasons”.
He also said the franchise “offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time”.
Support appeared to be in short supply when Srinivasan, who heads the company which owns CSK, was reported as saying Raina would not be missed.
In an interview with Outlook magazine, published late on Sunday, Srinivasan was quoted likening cricketers to "prima donnas".
He also said Raina would miss the income he had been set to make for playing in the IPL.
Raina’s salary of about $1.4 million (Dh5.14m) for the season would have been the eighth highest of any player in the competition.
Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and India captain, is the league’s highest earner.
“Cricketers are like prima donnas, like the temperamental actors of the olden days,” Srinivasan, the former ICC president, was quoted as saying.
“Chennai Super Kings have always been like a family and all senior players have learnt to co-exist.
“My thinking is that if you are reluctant or not happy, go back. I don’t force anyone to do anything. Sometimes success gets into your head.
“I spoke to [CSK captain MS Dhoni] and he has assured me that even if the numbers go up, there was nothing to worry.
“He spoke to the players through a zoom call and asked them to remain safe. You really don't know who is a passive carrier.
“The season has not begun yet and Raina will certainly realise what he is missing and certainly all the money he is going to lose.”
The interview prompted speculation that Raina, 33, would be ditched from CSK permanently.
Until now, the left-hander has played all but one of CSK’s matches in their IPL history.
However, Srinivasan later attempted to pour cold water on the issue, claiming his comments had been taken out of context.
"Suresh Raina's contribution to the Chennai Super Kings franchise is second to none, and it is unfortunate that people are trying to put two and two together to drive a wedge," Srinivasan told The Times of India.
“His contribution to CSK has been phenomenal over the years.
“It is important to understand what Suresh is going through and give him space.
“The franchise will always stand by him and he has our complete support during these times of distress.”
The former BCCI president even claimed that his prima donna comment had not been meant as a criticism, either.
“These boys, they’re family,” Srinivasan said.
“They’ve been family for over a decade now. When I said ‘cricketers are like prima donnas’, it wasn’t in a negative sense.
“A prima donna is the lead singer in an opera. Similarly, cricketers are always at the forefront of an exercise like this.”
The league is due to start on September 19, with the final set for Tuesday, November 10.
However, the schedule for the tournament is yet to be finalised. It is understood the organisers are contemplating staging the first phase of matches in Dubai, where six of the eight franchises are based.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians are the two teams based in Abu Dhabi.
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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More from Aya Iskandarani
Like a Fading Shadow
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Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
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The%20specs
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