“I withdrew from the IPL for personal reasons,” Harbhajan told PTI on Friday.
Dear friends, this year I will not play IPL for personal reasons. These are difficult times and I would wait… https://t.co/Lrw11kgPJu
– Harbhajan Turban (@harbhajan_singh) 1599218146000
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said Harbhajan has informed the franchise of his decision not to participate in the IPL this season. “Harbhajan has just informed us that he will not participate for personal reasons. We will speak with the team management and consequently we will make a decision on whether to find a replacement or not. We have just heard his decision. So we will need time,” he told TOI .
Harbhajan had not been part of CSK’s five-day camp in Chennai and had also not traveled to Dubai with the team, raising questions about his availability. Now that Harbhajan confirms his decision not to participate, CSK will have to bet mainly on Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner and Imran Tahir in the spinning department. Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla and R Sai Kishore are the other spinners on the CSK team.
Since CSK landed in Dubai for the IPL, which is scheduled to begin on September 19, they have had to deal with quite a few setbacks. 13 members of the CSK contingent, including players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, tested positive for Covid last week, after which they had to be placed in institutional quarantine. It later emerged that senior hitter Raina had decided to return home from Dubai citing personal reasons. With Harbhajan too unavailable, it will depend on people like MS Dhoni and Shane Watson to lead the charge for CSK this season.
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