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Popular cricket pundit and former Indian cricketer, Deep Dasgupta, has reckoned that CSK talisman, Suresh Raina, will be back in the UAE to feature in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Raina had announced his departure from the UAE, citing personal reasons. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has not named a replacement for their stalwart yet.
“I have a feeling that Suresh Raina will be back playing the IPL. He might miss out on the first few games because of the quarantine rules and all but I have a feeling that Suresh will be back. I won’t be surprised if they don’t pick a replacement for Suresh,” Deep Dasgupta told ESPNcricinfo.
Raina is amongst the all-time leading run-scorers in the IPL and has donned the yellows of CSK since 2008. In CSK’s two year hiatus from the IPL, Raina led the Gujarat Lions for a couple of seasons.
Even Raina hinted at his possible return to UAE to take part in the thirteenth edition of the IPL. “I’ve been training even while quarantining here. You never know you might see me in the camp there again,” Raina told Cricbuzz.
CSK received another massive blow with veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh pulling out from the cash-rich league.
Jalaj Saxena – a perfect replacement for Bhajji: Dasgupta
Dasgupta backed Madhya Pradesh cricketer Jalaj Saxena as a perfect replacement for Bhajji. “As far as the replacement is concerned, there aren’t too many options. But I think Jalaj Saxena deserves a place, he’s a good enough all-rounder. I think they might look at him, he’s a very good option for Bhajji’s replacement,” he added further.
CSK already have several quality spinners in their ranks, namely, Piyush Chawla, Imran Tahir, Karan Sharma and many others.
The N Srinivasan owned franchise hasn’t named the replacement for Harbhajan either. Bhajji has been a regular feature for the CSK since being bought in the 2018 mega-auctions. Previously, Bhajji was an integral part of Mumbai Indians (MI) camp.
