Chennai Super Kings off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons.
Chennai Super Kings' spinner Harbhajan Singh has withdrawn from the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League citing personal reasons. Harbhajan has become the second CSK player to have pulled out from the tournament - the other being Suresh Raina.
There had been speculations over his participation in the tournament ever since its dates were announced. Harbhajan did not participate in the six-day training camp organised by the Chennai Super Kings in Chennai, and was also absent from the squad which boarded the flight to UAE from India.
"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 told PTI on Friday.
Harbhajan Singh is one of the key parts of the CSK bowling attack among spinners - the others being Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla and Karn Sharma.
The veteran Indian spinners' withdrawal comes as a blow to Chennai franchise, after it already faced the setback of the sudden departure of Raina earlier this month. On the cricket field, too, CSK are likely to miss Harbhajan's services due to the spin-friendly pitches in UAE.
Earlier, it was confirmed that Chennai Super Kings will begin their training in the UAE later today after no fresh cases of COVID-19 infection were found among the squad members.
However, the two players who tested positive last month - Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, will complete their 14-day isolation period before they are tested for COVID-19 again.
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on September 19.
