After the exit of Suresh Raina from the Indian Premier League 2020, another blow came to the Chennai Super King Franchise when Harbhajan Singh announced his withdrawal from the tournament in the view of some “personal reasons”. The exact reasons for his decision are unclear.
Harbhajan Singh had not joined the squad on 21st August on the journey to UAE saying that he would join later. He had also skipped the 6-day camp.
The Chennai Super Kings franchise has been facing many problems since their arrival in the United Aram Emirates for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. The IPL is scheduled to commence on 19th September 2020 in UAE at three venues- Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The schedule for the matches is also out.
REASON FOR HARBHAJAN SINGH’S EXIT FROM IPL 2020
In view of COVID-19 situation in the country, the IPL was postponed several times and was finally scheduled to be held in the UAE. Earlier, 13 members of the Chennai Super Kings franchise had tested positive for coronavirus which included two players- Fast-pace bowler Deepak Chahar and right-handed batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad. As a consequence, the training got delayed. Other teams have already started their training while CSK’s training sessions were set to begin on 4th September 2020, approximately 15 days prior to the IPL commencement.
The 40-year-old right-arm spinner, Harbhajan Singh, is the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the entire series with approximately 150 wickets taken. He initially played for Mumbai Indians and joined the CSK team some time back in the year 2018. The IPL started in the year 2008 and Harbhajan was a part of Mumbai Indians for almost a decade before joining Chennai Super Kings.
Harbhajan announced his withdrawal from the tournament on 4th September 2020 hinting that it is a crucial time for him to remain with his family members who are in India. He cited the exit to some personal reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic is rampant, and he indicated that he needs to prioritize the safety of his family members in these testing times.
The speculations regarding Harbhajan Singh’s exit were already prevalent after Raina pulled out of the tournament and on 4th September 2020 it was confirmed when the player made the official announcement.
The pull out of two key player’s has come as a major shock to the CSK franchise. Presently the successors of the two players are being articulated. The infected players are under strict quarantine of 14 days after which they will be again tested for coronavirus before being able to join the team.
The team is facing a challenging time in finding a replacement of their head spinner Harbhajan Singh as his contribution to CSK’s success in IPL 2019 was significant.
Many other players are also pulling out from the tournament in the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lasith Malinga from Mumbai Indians (MI), Rohit Sharma and Jason Roy from Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kane Richardson from Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) have also pulled out from IPL 2020.
CSK is considered to be one of the most stable teams in the IPL under the leadership of the “Captain Cool”, MS Dhoni, but the year 2020 have posed many hurdles for the team. While other teams are already training for the upcoming tournament, CSK is facing conundrums. They are yet to start their training and are still adhering to the protocols of isolation and testing.
CSK is one of the most successful franchises of IPL and has consistently emerged as one of the most competitive team. Owner of CSK franchise Srinivasan said that the team has faced many ups and downs and have overcome all with vigour. The team is usually ridiculed to be an old team, but their performance has proved that with more age comes better experience. They have won the title three times and is the only team to reach the top 4 in every season of IPL which they have played.
CSK is among the top teams this IPL season as always. Fans are hyped up for the season and are optimistic about the win despite all the challenges.
