Chennai Super Kings veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and fast bowlers Shardul Thakur are all set to miss the franchise’s training camp, which will kickstart today at MA Chidambaran stadium in Chennai. The news comes after CSK all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja decided to skip the preparatory camp due to personal reasons. All these three players are expected to reach Chennai on August 19 and then they would be tested for Covid-19.
On the other hand, the rest of the team’s players headed by CSK captain MS Dhoni arrived in the city on Friday evening and will join the biosecurity bubble created by the franchise. Players like Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Monu Singh, Deepak Chahar and Kedar Jadhav have reached Chennai.
Harbhajan Singh and Shardul Thakur will miss the camp due to personal commitments
It is reported that Harbhajan Singh and Shardul Thakur will not be able to attend the training camp due to personal commitments.
“Harbhajan and Thakur had a few personal commitments and we understand that. However, they have already started training on their own. So we aren’t worried about them missing our camp. They are expected to join the squad by August 19,” the source said as quoted by Times of India.
Meanwhile, the camp will see the much-awaited return of CSK captain MS Dhoni. The former Indian captain had last played in the 2019 World Cup semi-final contest against New Zealand and he hasn’t played any professional cricket since then.
It would be interesting to note Dhoni’s form and fitness when he will return to action. All the eyes will be on MS Dhoni and he would aim to hit the ground running in the training sessions.
On the other hand, CSK has selected eight net bowlers from Tamil Nadu, who will travel with them to the UAE to help them train for the IPL. The tournament will begin from September 19 with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah to host all the matches.
The players will need to self isolate themselves upon reaching the UAE for one week before they can resume their training.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh has scalped 150 wickets in 160 IPL matches whereas Shardul Thakur has snared 36 wickets in 36 IPL matches.