With the veteran fast bowler, Lasith Malinga announced his unavailability for this IPL edition recently, CSK’s Harbhajan Singh and RCB’s Kane Richardson have now decided to let out this season due to personal reasons.
Harbhajan Singh who has been so productive with his off-spin so far in IPL had a great two seasons for CSK. Until now the Turbeunator has scalped 150 wickets with an economy rate of 7.08 in IPL.
“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. CSK management has been extremely supportive, and I wish them a great IPL. Stay safe and Jai Hind. ” said Harbhajan Singh.
CSK will miss out the experience of the Punjabi bowler who had been an integral part of Mumbai Indians for three title wins and one for CSK, which was their comeback season, 2018.
From another point of view, apart from Harbhajan Singh, CSK possesses three leggies Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma and Piyush Chawla. Two top-class left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner, along with the new entry of Sai Kishore from Tamil Nadu. So it’s already six contenders for the two spinners slot. Bhajji’s opting out decision would have lessened the tension of the other six spinners. Looking upon the UAE conditions, it won’t be a surprise if Dhoni choses to play with three spinners, providing they should play the role of pinch hitters.
Speaking of RCB, Kane Richardson’s dispatch from the side might affect them in this long tournament. Being an overseas fast bowler, he had Dale Steyn as his only competitor. Albeit having Dale Steyn by their side who has returned after a long time, his injury-prone body can upset RCB. Since Chris Morris and Isuru Udana come under the all-rounder category, Richardson’s decision will have a significant impact over both the team and himself.
The Aussie fast bowler has a strong reason to omit this edition. He has to miss this season for the birth of his first child.
“It’s always difficult to withdraw from a competition like the IPL, it’s the pinnacle domestic competition in the world. Just the challenge around getting home on time for something as unpredictable as the birth of a child, I couldn’t risk missing that. We’ve had five months off, but hopefully cricket will always be there. The main thing for me is to support my wife, as cricketers, we are away for a lot of things, but there comes a time when you prioritise your family over anything else,” Richardson said.
As there are two weeks yet to go for the tournament, there are certain decision making among the players because of this challenging pandemic situation. It’s a critical time where the players have to think of their families’ safety too. Thanks to the franchises who have plenty of optional players who could fill the shoes of the missing outs.
