Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who plays for Chennai Super Kings, has pulled out of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League citing personal reasons. The development was on expected lines as the off spinner was yet to join the team in UAE.
“I have pulled out of IPL due to personal reasons,” Harbhajan Singh told PTI.
Harbhajan became the second CSK cricketer after former India batsman Suresh Raina to pull out of the 13th edition of the IPL due to personal reasons.
The 40-year-old, who has been a part of CSK during the past two years is currently in Jalandhar, Punjab with his family and requested privacy. The IPL starts on September 19 in the UAE after being moved out of India due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have informed the CSK management about my decision to pull out of this year’s IPL. I have decided to take a break due to personal reasons in these difficult times. I expect that everyone would respect my need for privacy,” Harbhajan said.
The senior off-spinner is IPL’s third highest wicket-taker with 150 scalps in 160 matches. After playing his trade with Mumbai Indians for 10 seasons, Harbhajan was roped in by CSK ahead of IPL 2018.
Meanwhile, the CSK squad, barring the two players who tested positive for coronavirus last week, is likely to train from Friday in Dubai.
Deepak Chahar was among the two players to have tested positive last week and overall 13 members of CSK contingent were infected with the deadly virus, raising safety concerns ahead of the IPL beginning here on September 19.
