Josh Hazelwood on Thursday had pulled out of the IPL 2021 citing Bio-Bubble fatigue issues. The late decision from the Australian bowler came as a shock for the team management and fans. While everyone was eagerly waiting for the management to name the replacement, it has now been reported that CSK is unlikely to announce one any time soon, calling the issue a “Non-Priority”. The management will be dealing with this in a “later stage” of the tournament.
While talking to Inside Sport on Monday, Kashi Vishwanathan, CEO for CSK, confirmed that the team is looking in good shape and there is unlikely to be an announcement regarding Hazlewood in the coming days.
“We are not attaching too much importance to Hazlewood’s replacement. It has not been decided as it’s not a priority issue for us. We already have a very good team. Yes, the issue will be dealt with by the team management but at a later stage in the tournament.”
Hazlewood’s Aussie teammates, wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Philippe, and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh have also pulled out of this year’s IPL due to personnel reasons. RCB brought in Finn Allen as a replacement for Philippe, while Roy replaced Marsh in SRH’s squad.
CSK also delays announcing vice-captain for IPL 2021
The management has also delayed the decision of announcing the Vice- Captaincy, at least for the first few matches of the season. It was speculated that both Suresh Raina & Ravindra Jadeja were being considered for the post. But as of now the decision stands postponed.
Kashi Vishwanathan said that the vice-captaincy is also not an emergent issue and that the team management will decide it at some stage. He also insisted that the team spirit is high, and they are looking forward to having a strong season. Vishwanathan also confirmed that CSK is following strict guidelines in bio-bubble, so everything is under control in the camp despite a spike in covid cases in Mumbai.
With the current covid scenario and player changes will Chennai be able to break last year’s Jinx and make it to the qualifiers?