Harbhajan Singh mulling international retirement to play in 'The Hundred', BCCI denies report of cricketer's draft

New Delhi, Oct 4: Out of favour India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh may be the next in line to announce his retirement from international cricket. As per reports, the Turbanator has expressed his desire to play in England's franchise league 'The Hundred' and he has given his name to appear in the players draft.

The teams will pick up players from the draft on October 20 in London and Harbhajan might get a chance to play in the shorter version of cricket if he gets picked up.

The 39-year-old is the only Indian, who has given his consent in England's new city-based franchise league. Harbhajan has set his base price at 10000 pounds.

As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, Harbhajan Singh might his announce his retirement soon as the BCCI doesn't allow active Indian cricketers to participate in an overseas league.

The BCCI, however, has denied the veteran cricketer entering the draft. A BCCI official was quoted by a Times of India report claiming that Harbhajan hasn't officially entered the draft.

"Harbhajan has never sought a 'No Objection Certificate' from the BCCI. He can't just enrol his name in any league. It's against the BCCI's policy. The board has checked with him after the report surfaced and he has categorically denied any such development," the TOI report said.

Harbhajan, who last played an international game way back in 2016, hasn't yet retired from international cricket. Interestingly, he and Parthiv Patel are the only cricketers, who were part of India's 2003 World Cup squad, to have not announced their international retirement.

Harbhajan plays for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings. Recently, former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh announced his international retirement and was permitted by the BCCI to play in the Global League T20 in Canada.