‘Jadeja was standing right there and you run the game’ – Ajay Jadeja slams MS Dhoni for taking decisions in CSK vs LSG game
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost their second consecutive game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season on March 31 (Thursday). They couldn’t defend 211 runs against Lucknow Super Giants who chased it down in the final over of the innings to notch up their maiden win in IPL.
After the game, former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja was not impressed with MS Dhoni for taking over the reins from the newly-minted skipper Ravindra Jadeja. During the game, the veteran was seen setting the field and also making bowling changes and Jadeja didn’t feel it was right.
“It is wrong, there is no doubt about that. See, there is no bigger fan of Dhoni than I am, and that’s because of his temperament. If this was the last match of the group where there was a do-or-die situation in terms of qualification, then I could’ve probably understood that you would want to take over the reins because it is an important phase. But if it happens only in the second match of the season,” he said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
Ajay Jadeja made it absolutely clear that he is a big fan of MS Dhoni and there will never be another captain like him. But he also reckoned that the former CSK captain should’ve let Ravindra Jadeja experience the situation while at the helm instead of taking over the reins midway through the innings.
Ajay Jadeja criticises MS Dhoni for taking over captaincy from Ravindra Jadeja in tense game
“See, I’m not saying this because it’s Ravindra Jadeja. But even as a cricket fan, it looked a little odd. He (Jadeja) was standing right there and you continued to run the whole game. See, Dhoni is a very big player and I don’t like saying it out loud. But I didn’t like what I saw today.
“There hasn’t been a captain like Dhoni nor there will be. But it was his decision to step down as CSK captain and today, instead of pushing him (Jadeja) forward, you have actually dragged him back. His confidence is dented. He wasn’t in the game at all,” Ajay Jadeja added.
Most of the times, Ravindra Jadeja was also seen standing in the deep while Dhoni moved his troops and made the required bowling changes. Ajay Jadeja also pointed out that the latter was speaking in the team meetings or during the breaks when it should be the skipper taking the charge.
The 51-year-old was also of the opinion that such a close game would’ve helped Ravindra to get into his captaincy mode.
“I’m not criticising the decisions. I’m being critical of the way he (Dhoni) took over. We noticed Dhoni speaking during the team meeting. There’s no doubt that Dhoni understands the game better and even CSK fans would be urging him to take over the captaincy again. But I have no doubt that he was wrong in taking over today. If Jadeja was even beginning to feel confident about his captaincy, he won’t anymore,” he further stated.