Chennai Super Kings have roped in former Punjab Kings pacer Hardus Viljoen as a net bowler for IPL 2021. Viljoen also played one Test match for South Africa before signing a Kolpak deal.
CSK roped Hardus Viljoen as Net Bowler
In a recent video released by the franchise, Viljoen was seen bowling to the CSK batsmen. Viljoen had registered himself for this year’s IPL auction at a base price of Rs 50 lakh but his name was not called up during the auction. He was previously a part of the Punjab Kings in IPL.
South Africa fast bowler Hardus Viljoen is one of the net bowlers of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021. pic.twitter.com/650VxBpjDG
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 21, 2021
Viljoen has also been part of IPL as a player. He had first joined Punjab Kings for Rs 75 lakhs in IPL 2019 auction. The right-arm pacer scalped 7 wickets in 6 matches. He was retained by the franchise for IPL 2020 but remained on the bench.
The management decided to release him ahead of IPL 2021 auction and Viljoen found no buyers. Should CSK sign him during the tournament, Viljoen will join his brother-in-law Faf du Plessis in the franchise.
CSK Training camp
CSK’s training camp has been started much earlier as expected at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Dhoni and co start the training with high intensity in targeting the IPL 2021 trophy.
MS Dhoni, who will be leading the franchise in the tournament, was one of the first players who landed in Chennai. He is heading the camp, where the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and others have kicked off the preparations for the tournament.
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This will be the first time Dhoni will be seen in competitive action since IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE.
Chennai Super Kings Squad for IPL 2021
Retained players: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore.
Players bought at Auction: Moeen Ali (Rs 7 crore), K Gowtham (Rs 9.25 crore), Cheteshwar Pujra (Rs 50 lakh), Harishankar Reddy (Rs 20 lakh), Bhagath Varma (Rs 20 lakh), Hari Nishanth (Rs 20 lakh).
