Ahead of IPL 2021, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Josh Hazlewood has pulled out of the season in order to spend some time with his family. The MS Dhoni-led CSK faced the same issues in the previous year’s IPL where star players like Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh have been pulled out of the tournament.
The three-time champions CSK created an unwanted history in the IPL 2020 by not qualifying for the playoff of the season.
Josh Hazlewood Pulls out of IPL 2021
Josh Hazlewood’s decision of pulling out of the IPL 2021 will definitely make an impact in CSK’s game plan.
“It’s been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months. We’ve got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh T20 tour potentially thrown on the end of that,” cricket.com.au quoted Hazlewood as saying.
Exclusive: Josh Hazlewood has withdrawn from his #IPL stint with @ChennaiIPL & hopes to be playing the #SheffieldShield final in a fortnight | @samuelfez https://t.co/y9ZcYGH6li pic.twitter.com/d3fcALQPyv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 31, 2021
“Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it’s a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That’s the decision I’ve made, and it sits pretty well with me,” he added.
Hazlewood had played just three games for CSK in IPL 2020 and this year, he would have been competing with Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Lungi Ngidi, and Dwayne Bravo for a spot in the playing XI.
Other Players to withdraw from IPL 2021
On Wednesday, SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder Mitchell Marsh had also pulled out of this year’s IPL, and the franchise named Jason Roy as his replacement. Earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Joshua Philippe had also chosen to give this year’s IPL a miss, citing personal reasons.
Also, check the full list of players to withdraw from IPL 2021
IPL 2021 is scheduled to play from April 9, 2021. The cash-rich league starts with the first match between defending champions Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) a Chennai. All the matches of the IPL 2021 will be played behind closed doors under strict bio-secure bubble conditions.
