CSK vs MI match gives me feel of India-Pakistan game: Harbhajan Singh
Multiple champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are struggling in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). But that doesn’t stop from generating huge interest among players and fans when they clash.
The Rohit Sharma-led MI has endured six losses in a row and is yet to open its account in IPL’s 15th season. CSK, under new skipper Ravindra Jadeja, has lost five of its six games.
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Tonight (April 21), both these bottom-placed teams face off at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium. The clash is dubbed ‘El Clasico’.
Ahead of the contest, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has played for both Mumbai and Chennai, said both teams are “very special” and when they meet it is a feeling of India-Pakistan game for him.
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Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Harbhajan said, “It felt strange when I first wore the CSK jersey after sitting in the Mumbai Indians dressing room for 10 years. For me, both the teams have been very special. The match between these two IPL giants gives the feeling of an India-Pakistan contest due to the rivalry factor and the level of competition.”
Talking about his first game against MI while representing CSK, he recalled, “When I first stepped down on the field against MI, I was praying for the match to end soon because there was emotion and a lot of pressure involved in that game. Luckily that match ended early and CSK won it.”
Current MI players Suryakumar Yadav and Dewald Brevis also spoke about the game on Thursday.
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Speaking on the MI TV on Star Sports, Suryakumar said, “I think it has been going on for a decade now people are talking about MI vs CSK. I think it has always been there and I feel it will always be there because that bond between the two teams is very special whenever both the teams take the ground against each other, I feel it’s a completely different atmosphere altogether.”
South African youngster Brevis, who is in his first season of IPL, said, “For our family, the IPL is one of the biggest T20 leagues we follow. I really want to be honest about my family. So from the start of the IPL, my mother has been a Mumbai supporter. She loves Mumbai and she was so happy and grateful when I got contracted here. My dad was from Kolkata but everyone in the family moved now to Mumbai. I still need to work a bit on my brother as he is a CSK supporter but I think he will get in there.”
Mumbai and Chennai have met 32 times with the former holding the advantage with 19 wins against its opponent’s 13 successes. In the last five games, MI is 3-2 ahead.
