Finding Harbhajan Singh’s replacement will be difficult for CSK: Irfan Pathan

Prior to the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were dealt with a couple of body blows after Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh backed out from the tournament. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan reckons that the Super Kings will have to toil in order to find Harbhajan’s replacement.

The Jalandhar-born Singh pulled out of the IPL, citing personal reasons. On Raina, Irfan stated that there’s a chance of his return. However, when it comes to Harbhajan, Pathan said that the Yellow Army will miss his services.

Void created by Harbhajan Singh will be difficult to fill, says Pathan

“I have hope and I personally also want that Suresh Raina comes back, there is a chance for that,” Irfan was quoted as saying on Star Sports.

“But getting a replacement for Harbhajan Singh will be very difficult. It will be very difficult to find a quality off-spinner like him in domestic cricket. They are trying as well. I have got some information as well that the CSK team and management are considering the names of 3-4 off-spinners but the void created by Harbhajan Singh’s absence is very difficult to be filled,” he stated.

Harbhajan joined the Super Kings back in 2018 after ending his decade-long association with the Mumbai Indians (MI). In the same year, he played a pivotal role in CSK’s third triumph in the T20 league.

As per Irfan, Harbhajan has troubled loads of left-handers around the world with his guile and trajectory. Pathan was of the opinion that Singh’s ability to bowl with the new ball also came in handy for CSK.

“Because whatever issue Raina has, if that gets sorted out he can come back but it will be a very big loss for CSK when Harbhajan Singh does not play for them. Because there are a lot of left-handers against whom he used to play and bowl brilliantly. He even used to bowl with the new ball which used to impact the team’s performance a lot,” Irfan added.

The Super Kings have quite a few spinners in their repertoire. They already had Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Santner in their ranks. This time around, CSK also have Piyush Chawla, who was earlier a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also expected to help the tweakers to a large extent.