I have no hard feelings and I respect Mumbai Indians’ decision, says Harbhajan Singh

I have no hard feelings and I respect Mumbai Indians’ decision, says Harbhajan Singh

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IPL

Harbhajan Singh has claimed that he has no hard feelings for Mumbai Indians after the franchise didn’t pick him in the auction for the upcoming Indian Premier League season stating that he respected their move. Harbhajan has also added that he is looking forward to reuniting with MS Dhoni at CSK.

Ahead of the start of the this year’s Indian Premier League season, the mega-auction created headlines as, in the two-day event, the franchises picked their respective teams for the 11th edition of the IPL. In that process, some of the players who had stayed at one franchise in the first decade of the league ended up making a move to a whole new team. Harbhajan suffered the same fate as he was picked by Chennai Super Kings for 2 crores ending a decade-long association with the MI team. The Indian spinner revealed that he knew about Mumbai Indians were not planning to retain him for the next edition but stated that he was happy to be part of one of the most successful teams in IPL history.

“Well, for 10 years I was part of that team and time simply flew. It doesn't matter if I was surprised or not, every team has its own planning and they went about their job. They clearly told me about what they felt about player retention and I have no hard feelings, I respect their decision. They are looking to build the team for the future and I am thankful to MI for the brilliant 10 years and the five trophies (three IPLs and two Champions League titles) that I won with them. But now it's time to move ahead and you cannot get a better team than CSK,” Harbhajan told TOI.

In the IPL, the 37-year-old played 136 matches claiming 127 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.95. He was a crucial member of the Mumbai-based franchise for 10 seasons in the league winning the coveted trophy a record three times. It all started when Mumbai faced the Chennai in 2010 and lost their first ever final in the cash-rich league. Mumbai, however, came back strong and managed to hand CSK defeats in the 2013 and 2015 finals. Harbhajan admitted that the Chennai team was his most difficult opponent during his tenure with MI.

“Obviously I am excited about it. They are one of the strongest teams ever in the IPL and I am looking forward to be part of the team.”

After serving a two-year band for a fixing scandal, the Chennai team is back in the fray and the side didn’t waste time to retain Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Ravindra Jadeja. Harbhajan had the experience of playing under Dhoni’s captaincy and now he is eager to play again under his guidance donning the yellow jersey for the first time.

“Dhoni is calm, composed and he and has a sensible head on his shoulders. I am looking forward to reuniting with him, if not for the blue of India, at least the yellow of CSK. And knowing the Chepauk wicket, it may be a blessing in disguise for me that I am playing for CSK. There will be assistance for the spinners and who knows, if I take a lot of wickets, I may come back into India reckoning after a good season,” the right-arm bowler said.

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