Citing bio bubble fatigue as the reason, Australia’s pacer Josh Hazlewood backed out of the upcoming season of Indian Premier League, just a few days before the start of the start of the fourteenth season. Calling it a ‘sudden development’ , Chennai Super Kings has finally broken their silence over Hazlewood opting out at the last minute, saying that they were not prepared for it and no talks about his replacement seems to be there for now, as they have not decided it yet.
“It is sudden development and we were not prepared for it. We will look at various options before arriving at a decision. But we have our bases covered. So, if the team management feels we don’t need a replacement, we might not seek one,” the official of the CSK team told the media on Thursday.
As per the reports, Hazlewood has been in the bubble since the last ten months amidst the pandemic and hence was looking forward to spend a couple of months in Australia before getting back in his action.
“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,” Hazlewood said.
CSK had went through the same scenario in the last season when Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament at the last minute. The franchise suffered quite a lot as they could not make the playoffs for the first time and to make it worst, they finished last.
In the fourteenth season of IPL, it would be interesting to see if CSK opts for a replacement.
