Alex Hales to join CSK? Fans storm Twitter with suggestions for Hazlewood's replacement

MS Dhoni-led CSK was struck by a huge blow on Thursday morning as Josh Hazlewood announced his last-minute exit from the upcoming IPL 2021. The Australian speedster, who was expected to lead CSK's pace attack alongside Deepak Chahar, decided to pull out of the tournament to keep himself in shape for upcoming international fixtures. While the CSK pace attack comprises of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, and Lungu Ngidi, it remains to be seen if the franchise follows the footsteps of other teams and ropes in a replacement for the Australian star pacer. 

However, fans stormed Twitter moments after Josh Hazlewood announced his exit, pouring suggestions for the Australian's possible replacement in the Yellow camp. 32-year-old Alex Hales' name has been doing rounds as the possible replacement for Hazlewood, however, there is no official confirmation of it. As per reports, the English opener has already signed a deal with CSK but there is no affirmation to it. With Hales' name emerging as a frontrunner, fans have expressed delight and thrown weight behind the English opener to fill in for Hazlewood. 

While Hales will not be a like-for-like replacement for Hazlewood, the addition of the English opener might strengthen the Chennai top-order and could be paired with former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis as the openers for this season. With some runs on his back, Hales is fresh in the format having played the PSL recently, despite losing out on a spot in the England national team. Here's how netizens reacted to Hales' possible inclusion into the CSK: 

CSK lose Josh Hazlewood 

Ahead of the IPL 2021, MS Dhoni-led CSK suffered a huge blow on Thursday as Australian speedster Josh Hazlewood pulled out of the T20 tournament to keep himself available for the international fixture. Confirming the same, Hazlewood said, "It's been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months. We've got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh (T20 tour) potentially thrown on the end of that. Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it's a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That's the decision I've made, and it sits pretty well with me."

In IPL 2020 which took place in UAE, Josh Hazlewood played only 3 matches for the CSK franchise and took only 1 wicket. However, the Australian speedster proved economical as he gave runs at an economy rate of 6.40. As Hazlewood has pulled out his name from the IPL 2021, the CSK franchise is yet to announce who will they sign as his replacement. Hazelwood is currently participating in the Marsh Sheffield Shield which is a One-Day tournament in Australia.

CSK full squad 2021

Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, R. Sai Kishore, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, KM Asif, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K. Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishanth