After eight games, CSK has decided to have Dhoni back in the captaincy. As the official statement confirmed, Jadeja has decided ‘to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK.’ Apart from the impact of captaincy pressure on Jadeja, his performance was under review for the last few matches. It was considered and discussed on behalf of team management, the head coach, and Dhoni – the experienced man. Finally, Jadeja has decided stepping down is the best option for him and his team for the rest of the league.
It took eight matches to decide, including four losses in a trot. However, team management still thinks Dhoni remains the best person to lead the team.
The pressure of captaincy is evident in Jadeja’s performance both as a batter and a bowler. He has scored 112 runs with a strike rate of 121.74 in the last eight matches, and the average remains at 22.4. Apart from comparing with any other batter of his or other teams, it is well below his previous curves when compared with his earlier performance. In 2020 and 2021, his 232 and 227 arrived with much ease. He had a strike rate of 171.85 and 145.5, respectively.
He also has been an under-performer as a bowler all through the matches. You must have found an altogether different Jadeja, only picking five wickets in 8 matches while conceding 8.19 runs per over on average. The team management has found something wrong on his behalf. CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was confident that Jadeja’s lack of experience as a captain at the senior level would not affect the team otherwise.
Dhoni’s presence in the team was enough to manage the decisions. Viswanathan earlier said, “There will be no problem because MS will also be there on the field of play. Dhoni knows how to handle it (the transition) and will be there for guidance.” However, the situation shows how being in the team and being captain of the team might be very different in terms of all-around team performance.
Dhoni wanted Jadeja to learn the skills of being captaincy, and the experienced leader helped a lot to the newbie captain. But it was the beginning of the league; later on, he wanted Jadeja to make decisions independently. In the gradual transition period, Dhoni says that he never wanted to make Jaddu feel that captaincy is being done by someone else, and he is there to swing the coin before the match.
Dhoni said, ‘ok, this is what I will do, I will take care of the fielding angles for the first game, second game, and after that, you have to decide because that’s the only way you will learn captaincy. Spoon feeding doesn’t help the captain; on the field, you have to make those crucial decisions and take responsibility for those decisions.”
Dhoni was appointed limited over Indian skipper when Dravid stepped down, and he was 26 then. Now he will be 41, still taking responsibility for someone’s incompetence.
Fantasy cricket is a virtual platform where countless cricket-crazy fans create their teams, choose the captain and vice-captain on their own, and score points based on the actual match. It is expected that the fans of fantasy cricket would be overwhelmed to have Dhoni as CSK skipper, his shrewdness they know might be fruitful to elevate the team as per the expectations. It is obvious who every fantasy cricket player will choose as their captain when MS Dhoni is in the team.
