K Nagarkoti IPL 2021: Why is Harbhajan Singh not playing today’s IPL 2021 match vs CSK?

Harbhajan Singh not playing: Kolkata Knight Riders have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI for this match against CSK.

During the 15th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan has won the toss and chose to field.

“We are going to bowl. On this ground, it seems to be the fashion and more successful, change of ground and different vibe for us and hopefully change of fortunes for us as well. It [bit of grass] certainly pleases the international players.

“Chennai are obviously a strong team and we are hoping to build on the start of our campaign. A fresh mindset, over time chasing in Chennai hasn’t been productive at all for anybody and chasing at Wankhede is productive,” Morgan told Star Sports at the toss.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni laid emphasis on being watchful especially for the first few overs as his team will be bowling under dew later in the match.

“Again [the pitch is] a bit tacky, so we have to be watchful for the first few overs. There was less dew last game, so spinners were free to bowl what they wanted to bowl. If you get too much dew, then lengths are different,” Dhoni told Star Sports during the match.

Why is Harbhajan Singh not playing vs CSK?

Talking about the changes in the Playing XI for this match, Morgan mentioned that they’ve rested all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and spinner Harbhajan Singh for all-rounder Sunil Narine and pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

While Morgan didn’t particularly talk about the reason behind Harbhajan’s omission, it seems to be a consequence of Kolkata no longer playing in Chennai and wanting to play an extra pacer in Nagarkoti.

Narine for Shakib: for KKR’s sake, hope he opens. CSK pacers are not express quick, won’t trouble pinch-hitter Narine too much. He just needs to negate the early swing. #IPL2021

— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) April 21, 2021

In 120 matches for Kolkata, Narine has picked 127 wickets at an average of 24.78, an economy rate of 6.78 and a strike rate of 21.93. Nagarkoti, on the other hand, has picked just five wickets in 11 matches at economy and strike rate of 8.88 and 31.20 respectively.

As far the changes for Super Kings are concerned, they have included fast bowler Lungi Ngidi for all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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