IPL 2020 | Jalaj Saxena could be good replacement for Harbhajan Singh in CSK's setup, opines Deep Dasgupta

CSK were dealt with their second-straight bad news in terms of the squad, with veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh pulling himself out of the tournament after Suresh Raina headed home due to personal reasons. However, Raina in an earlier interview hinted that he might return back to CSK’s setup during the middle of the season. 

Following the setback, former Indian wicketkeeper-now-turned-commentator Deep Dasgupta opined that CSK should look at the Kerala spinner Jalaj Saxena to replace the 40-year-old spinner. Saxena has picked up 49 wickets in T20s, at an average of 19.48 combined with his 633 runs while batting. 

“I think one of the names that CSK could look at is Jalaj Saxena, he’s a good all-rounder. I think they might be looking for him and he’s a really good option to replace Harbhajan. Not just with the red-ball but also with the white ball, he’s really well experienced to be part of this setup,” said Deep Dasgupta on ESPNCricinfo’s video. 

On the other hand, the former keeper added that he has a feeling that Raina might return back to CSK’s set up sometime in the future, during the course of the tournament. In addition, he also stated that the franchise might not look to replace the southpaw, given his statements earlier this week. 

“However, I think Raina will be looking to return back to CSK’s setup some part in the season. I have a feeling that CSK won’t pick a replacement for Raina since he might return,” he added.