Veteran Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh is unlikely to play in the 13th edition of the Indian Premeague (IPL 2020), according to reports. Harbhajan, who did not travel with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team to the UAE. The experienced off-spinner was earlier expected to join the team on September 1.
The IPL rules may not allow a player to return to the competition once he has given a letter to the authorities stating he is pulling out of the tournament and flies back home. Particularly in the times of COVID and the subsequent quarantine periods and protocols.
This comes as a setback for the team after other players Deepak Chahar, Ruturaj Gaekwad tested Covid-19 positive and Suresh Raina ruled out participation in the league.
The news came as another setback to the Super Kings camp, after Suresh Raina too pulled out of the Twenty20 League and 13 of CSK's members - including two players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad - tested positive for Covid-19. As a result, CSK was forced to postpone the start of its training while all the other teams have already hit the nets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
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On Wednesday, BCCI treasurer-elect Arun Dhumal had said that the matches of the IPL will be according to schedule. The league will be played from 19 September to 10 November. All its matches will be played in the UAE's three cities - Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. For the first time the league finals will take place on Week-Day (Tuesday) instead of Weekend. The matches in the afternoon and evening will start half an hour earlier.