Srinagar, Sep 6: Former Team India All-round and currently J&K senior cricket team mentor Irfan Pathan has said that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are looking for replacement of Harbhajan Singh but it won’t be easy to fill the void left by the departure of veteran off-spinner.
Harbhajan recently announced that he will not be travelling to the UAE for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. His announcement came days after Suresh Raina returned from UAE.
Speaking in a recent interaction on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan said that he still thinks that there is a chance Raina may return.
“I have hope and I personally also want that Suresh Raina comes back, there is a chance for that,” the 35-year-old said.
However he said that it would be difficult for CSK to fulfill the replacement for Harbhajan.
“But getting a replacement for Harbhajan Singh will be very difficult. It will be very difficult to find a quality off-spinner like him in domestic cricket. They are trying as well. I have got some information as well that the CSK team and management are considering the names of 3-4 off-spinners but the void created by Harbhajan Singh’s absence is very difficult to be filled,” Pathan said.
“Because whatever issue Raina has, if that gets sorted out he can come back but it will be a very big loss for CSK when Harbhajan Singh does not play for them, ” Pathan said.
“Because there are a lot of left-handers against whom he used to play and bowl brilliantly. He even used to bowl with the new ball which used to impact the team’s performance a lot,” he further added.
The 13th edition of IPL will kick off from September 19th and MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings will be looking to win their fourth IPL title this year.