Chennai Super Kings skipper Ravindra Jadeja said on Sunday that he is not feeling the burden of captaincy in the new Indian Premier League season, saying he was getting mentally prepared to take up the added responsibility after MS Dhoni decided to give up the leadership role.
Speaking after CSK’s 3rd straight loss in IPL 2022, Ravindra Jadeja confirmed that Dhoni had told him about his decision to quit captaincy a “couple of months” in advance. Notably, Dhoni had made his decision public just 2 days before the start of IPL 2022.
Jadeja’s stint as the captain hasn’t begun on a good note as Chennai Super Kings have gotten off to their worst start in the history of IPL, losing 3 successive games. On Sunday, CSK were hammered by 54 runs by Punjab Kings who became the first team to defend a total in Mumbai in IPL 2022 as the defending champions came up with an insipid batting display.
Questions are being asked of Jadeja as the new skipper has not looked comfortable, failing to deliver with both bat and ball so far. The all-rounder departed for a 0 on Sunday as CSK were reeling at 36/5 in their chase of 181.
“Yeah, I have been preparing since he told me a few months ago. I was preparing for that. Mentally, I was prepared to lead. I don’t have any pressure on me. I was just looking to back my instincts, I was thinking to go with whatever thoughts come into my mind,” Jadeja told reporters after CSK’s defeat to PBKS.
Meanwhile, Jadeja said he is lucky to have MS Dhoni’s guidance and inputs, defending his decision to field near the boundary line during a high-scoring defeat to Lucknow Super Giants last week. CSK failed to defend 210 against LSG after an expensive 19th over from Shivam Dube following which Jadeja’s captaincy was questioned.
“The last match was a high-scoring game, so I needed to field at the deep mid-wicket. Chances of a lot of catches coming are more there, so we needed a good fielder there. That was our thought process and that’s why I was not able to give the bowler inputs.
