IPL 2022 | Ravindra Jadeja caved in to pressure, was always in MSD’s shadow

Ravindra Jadeja stepping down as CSK captain has raised as many questions as when he took over the captaincy from M.S. Dhoni on March 24, 2022 - just days before the team's first IPL match this year. (Image: BCCI, iplt20.com)

Around 7.15 pm on Saturday, April 30, 2022, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) officially called a halt to their month-long experiment with captaincy.

It was officially announced that: “Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested M.S. Dhoni to lead CSK. M.S. Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest and to allow Jadeja to focus on his game.”

This led to mixed reactions, much like the announcement of Jadeja taking over the captaincy from Dhoni had on March 24, 2022, just two days before the start of the 15th Indian Premier League (IPL). There was no indication before March 24, 2022, that Dhoni was going to call it quits as captain because he was actively involved in the pre-tournament discussions within the franchise. He planned the auction and strategies around who should be bought or retained.

Jadeja stepping down as captain raised more questions on just why the all-rounder made this decision. The franchise management was quick to point out that they had no role in the decision and that it was made by the cricketing minds involved in the process.

“This is a decision taken by the team management and Jaddu (Jadeja), a decision which we have now published in the press. Team officials didn’t have a say in this, only the team management. Jaddu expressed his desire to relinquish captaincy and give it back to MSD, who is taking up the responsibility in the larger interest of the franchise,” Kashi Viswanathan, CSK CEO, told The Sunday Express.

Though an effort has been made to put the matter to rest, the entire experiment raised questions about Jadeja’s ability to lead under pressure. Jadeja always seemed to be reluctant to make a call and appeared diffident on the field. He always looked at Dhoni with reverence on the field and did not seem to assert his authority as the captain of the side.

“Feeling good but at the same time I need to fill in big boots. Like Mahi bhai has already set a big legacy and we need to carry it forward, so hopefully I will. And I don't need to worry too much because he's here and whatever question I need to ask, I'll definitely go to him. He was my go-to person and he still is today, so I'm not worried too much,” had said Jadeja on taking over the CSK captaincy.

But Jadeja on the field appeared lost. He would field in the deep unlike what captains usually do, because they prefer to be close to the bowler and the action. As Jadeja was the best fielder in the CSK camp, he would be required to man the outfield. He did so with a lot of élan. But closer to the 22 yards, Dhoni was still calling the shots and making calls, placing fielders. Sometimes even Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies all-rounder would get involved, but Jadeja would be missing, seemingly lost in thought in the outfield. This was hardly a good sign. Then there was this one occasion when Dhoni called for a referral, forgetting that he was no longer in charge and then he reminded Jadeja to take the call.

All this meant that the CSK line-up was looking in multiple directions. They have won only two of their eight games thus far, underlining the confusion in the camp. Dhoni with a sharp cricketing brain was never going to be away from the action, but Jadeja always felt like he was looking over his shoulder.

“I feel that M.S. Dhoni is still captain of the team. When I look at Jadeja, he is fielding outside the ring. By doing that, you won’t be able to control too many things but he has given headache to M.S. Dhoni to look after the field setting and everything. He is shedding some of his own weight and putting it on Dhoni’s shoulders that ‘look after the field setting’,” said former India spinner Harbhajan Singh on Star Sports.

“But I think that overall Jadeja is a very confident guy when it comes to batting and bowling, and his skill sets are unbelievable. To get the best out of the team when it is not performing is rare, and he needs to stand up and talk about a few things,” added Harbhajan.

The CSK camp revealed at the start of the season that the decision for Jadeja to take over captaincy was sometime in the making despite the sudden nature of its announcement.“We have talked about it. It is something M.S. talked about with me during last season. The timing though was his call,” said CSK head coach Stephen Fleming. “It is going to be a bit of a transition period as we develop a relationship with Jadeja and also have M.S. there. You just don't discard a player just because he doesn't have the captaincy tag. Develop a new captain and you work with the experience you have got, and thankfully we have got quite a bit of that. This is a bit of a change, but we will work through that.”

If transition indeed was the reason for change from Dhoni to Jadeja, there were other claimants for the job that CSK should have considered. With a discussion around captaincy starting in 2021 itself, CSK probably missed a trick at the auction. They still had other options before the mega auction recast the line-up for the coming years. Former India head coach and all-rounder Ravi Shastri had one name in mind which probably CSK didn't think about.

“I believe a player like Jadeja should focus on his cricket. If Chennai think about it again, they should have not let Faf du Plessis go because he is a match-winner and played a lot. If Dhoni didn’t want to captain the side, then Faf should have become the captain and Jadeja should have played as a player. Because he (Jadeja) can then play freely, no pressure of captaincy,” said Shastri on ESPNCricinfo.

But unfortunately for CSK, the du Plessis ship has sailed because he has moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season and is the captain there now.

Dhoni’s captaincy record at CSK has been phenomenal since he first led them in the inaugural season of 2008. He led Chennai to 11 play-offs in 12 editions and also won four titles as the leader. Jadeja’s only leadership experience was as an India under-19 captain in 2007, but that too did not last long. Since then, he has been a solo artist expressing himself with the bat, ball and on the field.

If the whole plan was for Jadeja to be handheld by Dhoni through his first year in charge and to ease him into the role, it seems to have backfired. Jadeja is an ever-improving all-rounder. His rise as a cricketer, especially in the last couple of years for India, has been tremendous. But the lack of results as captain hurt Jadeja’s confidence.

“I know that Jadeja and MSD are talking almost every day about captaincy, about tactics and how leadership works along with Stephen Fleming, the coach, and to try and make the transition as smooth as possible,” said Mike Hussey, CSK’s batting coach on News 18.

But all that talk just didn’t help Jadeja.

Maybe CSK should have opted for incremental changes to the leadership after having had Dhoni as a skipper for such a long time. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had suggested as much before the start of the season. He had predicted that even if Dhoni were to take a break for a couple of games, Jadeja was ready to take over as captain. Maybe that was the model that CSK should have opted for.

There were other structural issues, too, within the camp with new-ball bowler Deepak Chahar being injured, the batting star Ruturaj Gaikwad struggling for form and there was a general listlessness on the field. All that also did not help matters for Jadeja the leader. He needed more time to mature as captain, but now he has gone back to the ranks, with uncertainty looming over who will be the long-term replacement for Dhoni.

In the end nothing succeeds like success. Jadeja the captain needed a few more wins to boost his morale and that of the side. He had the respect of the side, but that was just not enough because they were not winning consistently.