After Suresh Raina, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has become the latest Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player to miss the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to a report carried by NDTV, Harbhajan has conveyed his decision to the CSK franchise and cited “personal reasons” for pulling out of the cash-rich league.
Unlike Raina, Harbhajan had not yet joined the CSK camp in UAE and remained in India when the team had flown out. The 40-year-old had also skipped CSK’s pre-season camp in Chennai last month.
Meanwhile, Raina left a day after the yellow franchise was hit with a flurry of coronavirus cases. A total of 13 members of the squad, including players and coaching/support staff, tested positive for COVID-19 in UAE last week.
The 33-year-old left-hander, though, has clarified that he returned to India to be with his family. He said that his family required him after his uncle was killed in Punjab. Few others in his family was also harmed by some anti-social elements.
Raina has also dropped hints that he might return to the UAE in the near future to be a part of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League that is set to be played there from September 19 to November 10.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will start their training on Friday as no other COVID-19 positive cases have emerged in the squad.
The yellow franchise will be the last team to start training as others have already started to sweat it out on the field since Monday.
According to a report carried by IANS, all the players and support staff of CSK underwent a fresh round of testing and returned negative on Thursday. The team will, thus, start training is UAE ahead of the upcoming edition of the IPL, set to be played from September 19 to November 10.