Harbhajan Singh Confirms His CSK Contract Termination Ahead Of IPL 2021 Auction

Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday announced the end of his contract with Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The right-arm off-spinner tweeted to thank CSK for a “wonderful 2 years”. The deadline for player retentions for IPL 2021 is January 21.

Harbhajan Singh announced that his contract with Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has come to an end. He represented Mumbai Indians from 2008 to 2017 and Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2019.

Harbhajan Singh Tweets Contract With Chennai Super Kings Has Come To An End

Harbhajan Singh, who played for the franchise in 2018 and 2019 seasons before pulling out of the 2020 edition, tweeted on Wednesday to thank CSK for “a wonderful 2 years.”

Harbhajan tweeted: “As my contract comes to an end with @ChennaiIPL, playing for this team was a great experience..beautiful memories made &some great friends which I will remember fondly for years to come..Thank you @ChennaiIPL, management, staff and fans for a wonderful 2years.. All the best..”

As my contract comes to an end with @ChennaiIPL, playing for this team was a great experience..beautiful memories made &some great friends which I will remember fondly for years to come..Thank you @ChennaiIPL, management, staff and fans for a wonderful 2years.. All the best..🙏

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 20, 2021

 

Harbhajan Singh, an off-spinner, was part of the CSK team that won the IPL title in 2018.  Like the veteran spinner, batsman Suresh Raina too opted out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons. In their absence, Chennai Super Kings finished 7th in the points table as they failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time in IPL history.

Harbhajan Singh Last Played For India In T20 World Cup In 2016

Ahead of IPL 2021, the deadline for player retentions is January 21 and the trading window closes on February 4.

“We will have the players’ retention till January 21 and the trading window for the franchises closes on February 4,” Brijesh Patel, the IPL governing council chairman, told news agency PTI earlier this month. 

The 40-year-old turbunator has played 160 IPL matches and has 150 wickets to his name. He had decided to pull out of IPL 2020, held from September-November in the United Arab Emirates, due to personal reasons. He is 5th among leading wicket-takers in IPL history after Lasith Malinga, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla and Dwayne Bravo.

He last played for India during the T20 World Cup in 2016 and has featured in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is. The 40-year-old was part of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup in 2007.  He has taken 417 Test wickets, 269 ODI wickets and 25 T20I wickets.

Among off-spinners, he is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test history, behind Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. He is the third-highest Test wicket-taker among all Indians.