Chennai Super Kings veteran Harbhajan Singh has pulled himself out of IPL 2020 in the UAE owing to personal reasons. This is the second blow to the Super Kings after Suresh Raina withdrew his name last week due to COVID-19 fear.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan has not travelled with the squad in the UAE on August 21. Incidentally, he has not attended the camp in Chennai before the franchise departed for the UAE. While he was scheduled to join the squad in the first week of September, he hasn’t joined the team yet and will not travel to the UAE.
Harbhajan Singh pulls of out IPL 2020
Incidentally, Harbhajan’s mother is not well and the cricketer wishes to remain with her during these testing times. Chennai Super Kings are yet to announce a replacement and is unlikely to do so as they did in the case of Suresh Raina.
Harbhajan Singh boasts a decent record in IPL with 150 wickets at an average of 26.44, with the best bowling figures of five for 18. He joined Chennai in 2018 after a ten-year stint with Mumbai Indians and since then, has been a key part of the franchise.
Harbhajan Singh also took to Twitter to urge people to give him some privacy during these difficult times. He also thanked Chennai Super Kings for offering support and wished them all the luck for this year’s IPL.
“Dear Friends I will not be playing IPL this year due to personal reasons. These are difficult times and I would expect some privacy as I spend time with my family. @ChennaiIPL
CSK management has been extremely supportive and I wish them a great IPL Stay safe and Jai Hind,” Harbhajan wrote on Twitter.
Dear Friends
I will not be playing IPL this year due to personal reasons.These are difficult times and I would expect some privacy as I spend time with my family. @ChennaiIPL CSK management has been extremely supportive and I wish them a great IPL
Stay safe and Jai Hind— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 4, 2020
Speaking about the camp, Chennai Super Kings finally got some respite after a difficult couple of days. All the other members of the squad have tested COVID-19 negative and they are likely to resume training later today.
Incidentally, 13 members of the camp including two cricketers had tested COVID-19 positive. Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad were the two cricketers and it is likely that they contracted the disease while travelling to the UAE.
Meanwhile, BCCI is likely to announce the IPL 2020 schedule later today. After a lot of dilemmas and waiting, they are coming out with the schedule after Abu Dhabi relaxed their quarantine rules.