IPL 2020: Manoj Tiwary Hints He Is Ready To Replace Harbhajan Singh For CSK

Chennai Super Kings suffered yet another setback on Friday when their veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh pulled out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) citing personal reasons. In the process, he became the second CSK player after Suresh Raina to withdraw from the tournament.

Last week, Raina had also pulled out of the competition due to personal reasons. Missing Raina and Harbhajan will be a big blow for CSK. Both the players are two of the most decorated individuals in the history of the IPL. While Raina is second highest run-scorer in IPL, Harbhajan is the third highest wicket-taker.

With two key men out of the competition, CSK might bring in some replacements. Well, if the franchise indeed search for replacements, out-of-favour India batsman Manoj Tiwary has cheekily hinted he would like to be one.

It all started when a cricket journalist pointed out that CSK do not have a specialist off-spinner in their rank after Harbhajan’s withdrawal, writing:

“With Harbhajan missing, @ChennaiIPL don’t have an off-spinner in their ranks. Kedar Jadhav will be the only one who can offer them this variety. Everyone else take the ball away from the right-hander.”

Manoj Tiwary noticed the tweet and he was quick to reply to it albeit in a cheeky manner. The right-handed batsman posted a video of himself bowling spin and getting the batsman stumped and wrote: “Will dis work ??”

Will dis work ? ?? pic.twitter.com/G4oTmAAjuH

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) September 4, 2020

Well, it won’t be very surprising if Manoj Tiwary gets the call-up from CSK. He is not new to playing in the IPL and has also played under MS Dhoni for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. He had played a crucial role when the team made it to the final in 2017.

He scored 324 runs, including two half-centuries, in 15-matches for the Steve Smith-led, now-defunct side. But in 2018, he managed  only 47 runs from five matches for Kings XI Punjab and has not played in the tournament since then. Overall, in 98 IPL matches, he has scored 1,695 runs.

Also Read: IPL 2020: MS Dhoni & Co. Finally Hit The Nets After Clearing Additional Round Of Covid-19 Testing

Also Read: CSK Might Need A Replacement Or Two: Aakash Chopra After Harbhajan Singh’s Withdrawal