Chennai Super Kings is one of those IPL franchises whose players did not pull out of the tournaments for a long time. From the initial years of IPL till 2018, no CSK player withdrew from his IPL duties for any reason other than injury concerns. But in the last couple of years, Super Kings have witnessed several players pulling out of IPL for reasons other than injuries. This article will shed some light on four such CSK players who pulled out of IPL and the reasons behind their decisions.
Cricketing schedules can be hectic and tiresome for cricketers and may affect them both physically and mentally. With the introduction of Bio Bubbles and their strict protocols, these schedules can prove to be even more tiresome for the players. In such hectic times, we can expect players to pull out of some tours and tournaments. So is the case with IPL, where certain players pulled out before auction, and a few are withdrawing now.
Chennai Super Kings is one of those IPL franchises which has rarely faced the situation where a player has withdrawn from IPL for reasons other than injury. But for the past few years, CSK has encountered the most number of unavailability issues. Here are four CSK players who pulled out of IPL for reasons other than injuries.
#1 Josh Hazlewood:
Josh Hazlewood recently pulled out of IPL 2021 due to Bubble fatigue. Josh has been playing cricket since September 2020, after cricket all around the world stopped due to COVID-19. He has been staying in the Bio Bubbles since July 2020.
Josh wants to be in shape for the Australian winter season calendar, with tours like the West Indies tour, T20 World Cup, and Ashes. Chennai Super Kings has not announced any replacement for him yet, but we will see how they deal with Hazlewood’s unavailability.
#2 Suresh Raina:
Last year, before the beginning of IPL 2020 in UAE, Suresh Raina went back to India after spending a few days in quarantine with the Chennai Super Kings. He then announced his withdrawal from the 2020 edition of IPL.
At that time, rumours surfaced that Raina pulled out of IPL due to rifts between him and the team management. However, Raina rubbished the rumours and cleared that it was due to some family reasons. It was later revealed that his relatives were attacked in Pathankot, and he had returned to India to be with his family.
#3 Harbhajan Singh:
Along with Suresh Raina, there was one more name to disappoint Super Kings with his absence. He was none other than Harbhajan Singh. He pulled out of the 2020 edition of the league due to personal reasons.
Two lead players pulling out of IPL duties at the same time affected Chennai Super Kings’ performance in the IPL 2020. For the first time in the IPL history, they ended positioned in the bottom four of the league table. Not just that, they also lost a few easy run chases along the way.
#4 David Willey:
The English all-rounder David Willey was another CSK player to pull out of IPL due to reasons other than injury. He made himself unavailable ahead of the 2019 edition of the IPL with the permission of the franchise. He pulled out of the IPL to stay with his wife, who was pregnant with his second child, before returning to prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Willey quoted that both Yorkshire and Chennai Super Kings were very understanding and supportive of his situation. However, Willey’s unavailability didn’t make much difference as the Super Kings still qualified for the 2019 IPL finals.
