Soon after Suresh Raina announced his withdrawal from the Indian Premier League due to personal reasons, the Chennai Super Kings have suffered another huge setback. Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has confirmed the news of pulling out of the upcoming IPL season citing personal reasons.
“I have pulled out of the IPL due to personal reasons. I expect that everyone would respect my need for privacy,” Harbhajan told PTI on Friday.
According to reports by the Times of India, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that Harbhajan had informed the franchise of his decision before. “Harbhajan has just informed us that he won’t take part due to personal reasons. We will discuss with the team management and accordingly take a decision on whether to seek a replacement or not. We have just come to know about his decision. So we will need time,” he said.
Moments after Harbhajan Singh announced his pullout, the franchise took to Twitter to show their support to their senior off-spinner.
“Stay strong Pulavarey, will miss you in yellove!” tweeted CSK from its official handle in reply to Harbhajan’s post, in which the off-spinner said: “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. CSK management has been extremely supportive and I wish them a great IPL Stay safe and Jai Hind.”
Harbhajan had not been part of CSK’s five-day camp and also did not travel to Dubai with the team either. The senior player was bought by the franchise for Rs 2 crore this season. In his statement on Friday, the off-spinner said he was indebted to the CSK management for understanding his priorities.
“When I told the CSK management about my decision, they were very supportive and I can’t thank them enough for that. “I would only say that there are times when family takes precedence over sport. My young family is my focus of attention now. But yes my heart will be in the UAE with my team.
“I am sure that Chennai Super Kings will put up yet another fabulous performance,” said India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.” Harbhajan said.
Harbhajan Singh is one of the most successful bowlers in the history of IPL with 150 wickets and is only third behind Lasith Malinga (170) and Amit Mishra (157).
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