MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in action for CSK (File Photo/IPL) Dear Readers,
There are a couple of traits that CSK’s new captain Ravindra Jadeja shares with his predecessor and lifelong mentor MS Dhoni. Jadeja too keeps his cricket simple and the world at an arm’s length. But is that enough to continue the Dhoni legacy? It is a question with no simple answers.
Passing the rein! 🧊➡️🔥
Watch the full 📹 👉 https://t.co/vS9BSJ01er#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 @msdhoni @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/HwcyHSSaUS— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 25, 2022
A few years back, Jadeja had gone out of favour, he wasn’t part of the Indian team. He was turning up for Saurashtra in a Ranji game. That was the time when the India team was blinded by their love for wrist spinners. The names of the country’s premier match-winners – the fingers spinners Jadeja and Ashwin – wouldn’t be found on playing XIs.
The theoretical assumption that chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal would trouble batsmen by breaking the ball on true pitches wouldn’t last long. But till that realisation dawned on the Indian team, Jadeja had to travel to obscure grounds on the domestic circuit.
At one such venue, Jadeja took a bagful of wickets and was in a chirpy mood. He chatted about his cricket, the training schedule and even his horses. But he turned down the request for an interview.
No excuses, no elaborate plan to hoodwink the media, just a simple blunt reason to avoid the headlines. “Aapke likhne se kya mujhe India team mai le lenge? (Do you think they will include me in the team if you write about me?),” he said.
Before I could utter, “Maybe”, he raised his hand, to signal that he had more to say. “To return to the team, I have to score runs, I have to take wickets.”
That day Jadeja also said that the talk about him being Dhoni’s favourite hurt him. He said such comments didn’t just undermine his talent but were insulting to Mahi bhai’s reputation as India’s most-celebrated leader. Once again, he reminded, nothing but “runs and wickets” matter.
Jadeja did exactly that. He was back, and how. His improved batting would give Test captains the right balance abroad. At home, his mere presence at the top of the bowling mark on a weary track would make the visiting batsmen tremble. His return to form had perfect timing.
CSK, at the start of IPL 15, like any well-administered corporate, would start looking beyond the aging Dhoni and put in place a succession plan. Suresh Raina, once seen as Dhoni’s heir apparent, had lost his way. A one-time stop-gap India captain, Raina, at 35, seemed spent and drained. Jadeja, at 33, couldn’t afford such luxuries. He could still bowl 35 overs, a day after scoring close to 200. And on any of those days, he could be trusted to sprint from deep mid-wicket to short square leg just to save a single with one of those stinging throws at the top of the stumps.
The man. The legacy. MS Dhoni 💛💛@msdhoni | #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/sXu3LHgnIN
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 24, 2022
Jadeja’s overwhelming presence on the field is intimidating but does he have the gravitas to lead a franchise of CSK grandeur? The easy answer to that question is ‘No’. But that wouldn’t qualify as a well-thought of, or even well-researched, response. For Jadeja has virtually a non-existent captaincy record.
Busy representing India, he wasn’t even considered to lead Saurashtra. Most of his career, he often ended up doing cricket’s dirty job. Bowling the tight powerplay overs and batting lower down the order in crunch situations. Now, it’s his time. He can no longer complain of being under-utilised or unfairly overused.
Those with the national team’s interest on their minds will keep a close eye on how Jadeja the captain handles Jadeja the all-rounder. All through his career there is always a debate about where he should bat and when he should bowl. Of late, captains have been grilled at press conferences to play Jadeja up the order. Keep an eye on CSK’s batting order, it could give a clue about the India line-up at the World T20 later this year.
It would be naive to think that Dhoni would withdraw himself and be just a wicket-keeper. He will surely have a say. But history shows that Dhoni isn’t an interfering senior. When Virat Kohli replaced him as the captain, Dhoni knew when to intervene. It was only when things were getting out of hand, there would be a shout from behind the stumps, “Cheeku, slip rakh sakta hai” or some sort. It would sound like a suggestion but it would eventually be the team’s game plan. Keep your ears open for the voice on the stump microphone, “Jaddu, slip rakh sakta hai” might be a signal that the crisis man has taken over. But before that Jaddu would get the time and space to do his act, show his leadership mettle.
📹 First reactions from the Man himself!#ThalaivanIrukindran 🦁💛 @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/OqPVIN3utS
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 24, 2022
</script
The one lesson that Jadeja, or any other leader, can learn from Dhoni would be his commitment to captaincy. India's iconic skipper never let his form impact the shepherding of his brood. It helped that he was the wicket-keeper. Jadeja, the all-rounder, is always in the thick of things. A day on the field is like a roller-coaster ride. He can't afford to sulk or go in a shell because of a bad spell or a missed catch. Can the rockstar in him inculcate the aloofness of a monk?
This would be the season of reckoning for Jadeja the leader. With India still undecided on its contingency captain, IPL 15 can be a race of sorts for the new leaders – KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and now Jadeja. The sight of a captain with an IPL trophy can change public perception and influence selection decisions.
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Sandeep Dwivedi
National Sports Editor
The Indian Express
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