Harbhajan Singh reveals the reason why he didn't take part for CSK in IPL 2020

Recently a few eyebrows were raised when Harbhajan Singh decided to include himself in the list of players who will go under the hammer in the Indian Premier League auction 2021. The veteran off-spinner had decided not to participate in the 2020 season of the cash-rich league, where he was part of the Chennai Super Kings squad. 

Harbhajan was released by the franchise ahead of the 2021 auction. The mini-auction will be held in Chennai on February 18. The Punjab spinner has listed his base price in INR 2 crore bracket. In a recent interaction, he revealed that he is getting ready for the 2021 season and is preparing hard for it. 

Harbhajan further explained the reason why he didn’t play in the 2020 season, which was entirely scheduled in the United Arab Emirates. He revealed that due to the pandemic he felt he needed to be with his family and skipping the IPL was the correct decision at that moment. 

There is a lot of cricket left in me, very much. Fitness-wise, I am quite fit: Harbhajan Singh

“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 told Cricbuzz in a recent interaction.

The 40-year-old spinner further said that there is a lot of cricket left in him. He also revealed that he has worked very hard on his fitness. Harbhajan hasn’t played any professional cricket since the 2019 IPL and also didn’t take part for Punjab in any of the domestic tournaments after that. 

“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 being in the park again and doing what I can do best,” he added.

The right-arm spinner has a great record in the IPL. He has taken 150 wickets in the cash-rich league since its inception in 2008. He played for Mumbai Indians until 2017 and in 2018, he moved to Chennai Super Kings. In the 2019 season, he picked up 16 wickets from 11 matches for CSK.