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IPL 2018: Will Miss Bhajji In Mumbai Indians’ Camp – Rohit Sharma
Mar 27, 2018 at 2:26 PM
Mumbai Indians delivered a big surprise on the IPL auction day when they neither retained nor bid for Harbhajan Singh.
The veteran off-spinner played for Mumbai Indians for the 10 season of IPL – he was also retained by the franchise twice – and the franchise not even bidding for him was a big surprise.
Bhajji got just one bid from Chennai Super Kings and was purchased by the franchise at his base price of Rs 2 Crore.
On being asked why Mumbai Indians did not bid for bhajji, Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians’ captain, did not reveal the reason but said that the team would miss Bhajji,
“We will miss Harbhajan. His experience has been immense and he has been a great asset to our team. We will definitely miss him,” he said.
In what looks like, the franchise did not bid for Harbhajan as he was dropped from the team several times during the tournament.
He wasn’t the part of the playing XI in the opener and wasn’t included even in the final.
The franchise banked more on Karn Sharma and Krunal Pandya.
Interestingly, Karn is also part of Chennai Super Kings, which might mount pressure on Harbhajan, again.
He is expected to get preference over Karn and has to perform well to retain his place.
Karn might walk in the playing XI should Harbhajan let the early chances slip.
Ravindra Jadeja is likely to feature in all the games, and with Suresh Raina also providing luxury to team with his off-spin, Chennai Super Kings will need just one established spinner.
Both Harbhajan and Karn are likely to get the first move, and either of one will fix his spot.
CSK also have Imran Tahir, who might have to wait for his chance.
Talking of Mumbai Indians, they are banking on Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Akila Dhananjiya, Mayank Markande and Anukul Roy in the spin department.
All eyes will be on Rahul Chahar, who missed the bus to Under 19 World Cup.
The leg-spinner impressed the franchises during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the teams were keen to get his services.
He saw himself being sold at Rs 1.90 Crore from a base price of Rs 20 Lakh.
Both, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, have started their pre-season camp and are preparing for the comings season of IPL.