Ravindra Jadeja’s gloomy stint as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain came to rest just a day prior to the franchise’s ninth game in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Jadeja, who was given the responsibility to lead the ‘Yellow Army’ ahead of the start of the fifteenth season, has stepped down from the role handing the leadership back to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The move to make Jadeja captain clearly didn’t work out for the four-time winners as they struggled badly under the Jamnagar-born cricketer. The defending champions are currently placed at the 9th spot on the points table with just two wins out of eight matches.
Moreover, the captaincy has also affected Jadeja’s performance as the all-rounder has scored only 112 runs and picked up five wickets in the tournament so far. While announcing the development, CSK also mentioned that the 33-year-old has decided to give up captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game.
However, according to a report in Cricbuzz, things aren’t as smooth as they appear to be in the CSK management. As per the report, Jadeja was perhaps forced to relinquish the role due to his disappointing show with bat and ball.
“The management cannot be silent that the world’s best all-rounder is not performing to his best. Obviously, he is weighed down by the burden of captaincy,” a CSK insider was quoted as saying.
“He even started dropping catches,” the insider added.
The Super Kings will take on Sunrisers in their next match at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday (May 1). Theoretically, CSK are still not out of contention to book a place in the play-offs; therefore, with Dhoni back in charge, fans would be hoping for a turnaround.
