Chennai Super Kings mainstay Suresh Raina returned to New Delhi on Saturday morning and will miss the IPL even as reports emerged of a second cricketer from the franchise having tested positive for Covid-19.

The franchise cited "personal reasons" for Raina's decision.

"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time," said a message from CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan on the franchise's Twitter handle.

Raina, sources said, had |already been upset over a family tragedy at his ancestral village in Pathankot district of Punjab.

Shortly after the all-rounder flew out of Dubai, reports trickled out that another cricketer of the franchise, a promising batsman, had returned a positive result after undergoing a fourth test for Covid-19 along with his teammates. On Friday it was confirmed that an India pacer of the franchise had tested positive along with a couple of net bowlers, a few members of its social media group and the wife of a top CSK official.

"Thirteen personnel have tested positive of which two are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL medical team," the BCCI stated in a media release on Saturday without mentioning the franchise.

The BCCI said that a total of 1,988 RT-PCR Covic-19 tests were carried out between August 20 and 28 across all participant groups in the UAE. The ones tested include players, support staff, team management, BCCI staff, IPL operational team, hotel and ground transport staff.

With the CSK contingent now forced into quarantine at least till September 1, there's still no clarity on when the IPL fixtures would be announced.

While CSK has refrained from commenting on the issue, sources told The Telegraph that the players' mental health in the bio-security bubble is increasingly coming under the scanner.

"Months of staying away from your family in a restricted environment is bound to take its toll on the players. Staying in a quarantined atmosphere is always tough. If the period is suddenly increased to 14 days, it can ruin you mentally in a foreign land," someone in the know of things said.

"You cannot rule out a mental breakdown for the players under the circumstances. Add to it the pressures of having to deal with an environment where several other members of the group have tested positive.

"Fame, money and passion have nothing to do with your mental aspect if you have a young family to look after... It could happen with anyone," the source said.

Raina, 33, had announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, soon after Mahendra Singh Dhoni had made public his decision to quit that day. Sources said that the family tragedy on the intervening night of August 19 and 20 when Raina's uncle was killed by robbers had left him perturbed. He was still in Chennai then but decided against returning home.

"Once the positive Covid-19 cases emerged in Dubai, he was left shaken. He wanted to be with his family and kids," a source maintained.

Australian limited overs captain Aaron Finch, who will turn out for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Sunrisers Hyderabad's David Warner have already voiced their apprehension on the subject of mental health.

Warner said lack of family time during tours owing to the bio-security bubble will play a key role in determining his future. Finch felt that mental health was something that would be required to be monitored heavily.

The Aussies have already got their team psychologist on tour for the upcoming limited overs series in England.

"It could be a few months that people are in these bio bubbles and being stuck in a hotel room by yourself can be really tough," Finch has been quoted as saying.

Mental health issues have always affected top cricketers around the world. Marcus Trescothick had admitted to suffering from it, and more recently, Glenn Maxwell had been forced to take a break from the game.