Harbhajan Singh Reveals Why He Opted Out Of IPL 2020 In The UAE

Veteran off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh will be up for grabs in the forthcoming IPL 2021 auctions; he was one of the 6 players to be released by the Chennai Super Kings. Harbhajan played for the MS Dhoni-led outfit in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

However, about a couple of weeks ahead of the commencement of IPL 2020, he pulled out citing personal reasons. Harbhajan Singh reveals that he opted out of the 13th edition of the tournament due to the concerns around covid-19 situation and decided to stay with his family.

Due to pandemic, the IPL last year was first delayed from its regular April-May window to September and was staged in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah in UAE.

“I am looking forward to the IPL, I am preparing hard for it. Even last year, I was keen on playing but because of the pandemic, I could not. I needed to be around my family. At that stage I thought skipping IPL was the right decision,” Harbhajan Singh told Cricbuzz.

The off-spinner was the second senior player from the CSK squad to pull out of the competition after batsman Suresh Raina also skipped the season last year.

Harbhajan Singh sets his base price at Rs. 2 crores for IPL 2021 auction

Harbhajan Singh after being released by the Yellow Army is back in the auction pool; he will be available in the auction starting with the price of Rs. 2 crore, which is the highest bracket also including Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan.

The 40-year-old has snared 23 wickets for CSK in 24 matches and won the title in 2018. Before being bought by CSK, he played for Mumbai Indians and has 127 scalps winning the IPL thrice.

‘Bhajji’, as he is fondly known, says that he has been preparing hard on his fitness and believes there is still plenty of cricket left in him and is hoping to continue playing in the IPL; however, Harbhajan Singh last played a professional game way back in the IPL 2019 final, he doesn’t play domestic cricket and it would be tough for him to find a buyer at the auction.

“There is a lot of cricket left in me, very much. Fitness-wise, I am quite fit, I worked hard on my fitness during the lockdown. Unfortunately, I could not do anything (participate in the IPL). I am looking forward to be on the park again and doing what I can do best,” the off-spinner added.

Also Read: Watch: Rohit Sharma Hilariously Imitates Harbhajan Singh While Bowling And Leaves Everyone In Splits