IPL 2020: Harbhajan Singh not to travel to UAE with Chennai Super Kings on August 21

Bengaluru, August 20: Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will not travel to the UAE for IPL 2020 with the rest of his Chennai Super Kings teammates on Friday (August 21). The Super Kings are scheduled to travel to the Emirates after a five-day training camp at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

It is understood that Harbhajan Singh has conveyed to the franchise officials that his mother is unwell. Harbhajan had also skipped the five-day camp in Chennai, organised by Super Kings prior to their departure to the UAE.

Harbhajan will now be travelling to the UAE two weeks later, perhaps on the first week of September. The IPL 2020 is scheduled to begin on September 19 and the final is on November 10. However, it is unlikely that the late arrival will have any bearing on Harbhajan's participation in the IPL 13 as there is enough time left for him to enter the bio-secure bubble and undergo mandatory quarantine and Covid 19 testing.

The 40-year-old off-spinner is not the only Chennai Super Kings player to skip the five-day camp as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Shardul Thakur too gave it a miss for different reasons. But they are expected to arrive in Chennai ahead of the travel to the Emirates.

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday (August 15), senior batsman Suresh Raina, who had also announced his international cricket retirement along with Dhoni, and other squad members had arrived in Chennai for the five-day camp and are undergoing intense training behind the closed doors.

Chennai Super Kings finished runners-up to Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 and they will be eager to grab their fourth title and equal Mumbai in their trophy tally. Upon their arrival in the UAE, the teams will be undergoing quarantine and stringent tests for Coronavirus, the reason behind the tournament getting shifted from India.