XtraTime Web Desk: Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh won’t travel to UAE to join Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2020 as he has taken a decision to stay away from the cash rich league due to some personal reasons. Bhajji has conveyed this decision to the management on Friday. Now he has become the second cricketer after Suresh Raina to withdraw his name from IPL. The CSK team that flew from India to UAE, Harbhajan wasn’t a part of that group and was expected to fly later. Earlier, he was also not a part of the camp that was organised in Chennai.
The 40-year-old, who has been a part of CSK during the past two years is currently in Jalandhar, Punjab with his family and requested privacy. The IPL starts on September 19 in the UAE after being moved out of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“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.
Meanwhile, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly revealed that the full schedule of Indian Premier League 2020 will be released on Friday (September 4). The IPL 2020 is scheduled to be held in UAE between September 19 and November 10, but the full itinerary is not yet out. Ganguly said it’s on the verge of getting final.
“We understand schedules are delayed. It is almost on the verge of getting final and should be released by Friday,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by ABP news.
It was expected that the opening encounter of the tournament could be held between champions Mumbai Indians and 2019 runners up Chennai Super Kings. However, things went haywire with 13 members of the CSK camp, including two players, turned positive for COVID-19. There was speculation that CSK might not play the opener, although CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said the team would be ready to play the opener if required.