Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels Harbhajan Singh’s absence will be a loss for CSK but they do not need to look beyond their own squad to replace him. Agarkar believes CSK already have enough options in the spin department to ensure Harbhajan’s absence is not felt.
Harbhajan Singh will not be taking part in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE this year after pulling out of the tournament due to personal reasons.
“Well, we have seen when they went to the auction, they already had enough spin. You’ve seen in Chennai when they play, they rely so much on spin because of the conditions. Harbhajan Singh, obviously, that kind of experience, the quality that you lose, it is going to be a loss, but I think CSK have a lot more cover in that department at least as far as spin is concerned,” Agarkar said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
CSK roped in Piyush Chawla for a whopping Rs 6.75 crore at the player auction last year which can prove to be a smart move for the franchise as they will have another experienced spinner to step up in Harbajan’s absence. Apart from Chawla, CSK also have Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner and R Sai Kishore among others in their star-studded spin attack.
“They have got Piyush Chawla as well that they have brought in. This year they have got Tahir, Santner, so they have got enough spin and they will be hoping that the conditions are in their favour what they get in Chennai, which is a little bit of turn, then those spinners come into play,” said Agarkar.
Chennai Super Kings will also miss the services of their vice-captain, Suresh Raina, in the upcoming season after the left-hander pulled out of the tournament citing personal reasons.
