Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday appealed for "some privacy" after he opted to pull out of the impending 13th season of the Indian Premier League citing "personal reasons".
Taking to Twitter, Harbhajan requested privacy amid these difficult times as intends to spend time with his family.
"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," he tweeted.
Chennai Super Kings replied to his tweet saying, "Stay strong Pulavarey, will miss you in yellove!"
Harbhajan became the second high-profile cricketer after Suresh Raina, also from Chennai Super Kings, to opt out of the tournament.
Harbhajan didn't attend the side's pre-departure camp in Chennai and was to join his teammates on the day of their flight to Dubai.
He had apprehensions about participation in this edition and was asked by the CSK management to take his time before coming to a decision.
A source close to Harbhajan said that it would be "absurd" to attribute the decision to 13 COVID-19 cases in CSK camp, including pacer Deepak Chahar and batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad.
"It wasn't about the COVID cases in the Chennai camp. But if you have a wife and toddler staying in India for three months, your mind will be diverted and you can't fully focus on the game. Then it doesn't matter whether you get 2 crore or 20 crore. Money is last on your mind," a friend of the player told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
(with PTI inputs)
