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CSK stutter but Ravindra Jadeja confident of rebound
New captain Ravindra Jadeja refuses to press panic button despite worst-ever IPL start
As far as captaincy transitions go, Ravindra Jadeja couldn’t have had a tougher initiation as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper. Three losses in three games have consigned the four-time champions to their worst-ever start to an Indian Premier League (IPL) season, and hopes of successfully defending their title could soon go up in smoke unless they promptly get their act together.
Their loss to Punjab Kings at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday will particularly rankle. After bemoaning the presence of dew and their misfortune of losing the toss in the opening two games, here was their chance to bat second having won the toss and avoid the discomfort of bowling with a wet ball. As it turned out, the dew was negligible on Sunday, causing CSK’s Chris Jordan to express his surprise at the halfway stage of the game.
Dew or no dew, the game was evidence of CSK’s problems running deeper than just the toss of a coin. Jadeja is bound to be under maximum strain, given that he has taken over the leadership of a hugely successful franchise from an all-powerful figure in MS Dhoni who had led the team to the title last season. The all-rounder is already having to battle the view that he is not assertive enough with his decision-making and that Dhoni is still very much calling the shots.
During the defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, for instance, Jadeja seemed to have little involvement in the ball being given to Shivam Dube for the 19th over. Dube’s over cost 25 runs as CSK suffered a crushing six-wicket loss despite racking up a score in excess of 200.
“The last match was a high-scoring game. Deep midwicket is an area where there are chances for catches. We needed a good fielder there,” Jadeja, who fields in the deep during the slog overs, said at the post-match press conference on Sunday. “So I was not able to communicate that much with the bowlers. Mahi bhai gives inputs. He has so much experience. We don’t need to look elsewhere for advice. He is such a great player and has been captain for so many years. We are very lucky that we keep getting his advice.”
As CSK come to terms with a string of losses, there might be those who ask whether a changing of the guard was needed at all with Dhoni still around, especially when the decision was announced only two days before the first game. But Jadeja made it clear on Sunday that Dhoni had informed him of his intentions a few months ago.
“I have been preparing for captaincy since he told me a few months ago. Mentally I was ready to lead,” said Jadeja, who had never captained at the senior level before this IPL.
It isn’t Jadeja’s fault of course that they haven’t had the services of Deepak Chahar – CSK’s premier pacer – yet. Chahar has taken 58 wickets since joining them in 2018 and fetched a sum of ₹14 crore at this year’s auction as a result. But a quadriceps tear suffered in February means he is likely to feature only in the second half of the tournament.
In his absence, the job of taking wickets in the powerplay has fallen on the likes of Mukesh Choudhary and Tushar Deshpande. Choudhary, a left-arm pacer from Maharashtra, managed to get rid of Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal on Sunday but was meted out rough treatment by England’s Liam Livingstone, eventually conceding 52 runs in his four overs. Deshpande, too, was carted around the park in the game against Lucknow before being dropped for the Punjab match.
“It is always important to get wickets in the powerplay. We are definitely missing Chahar. Whichever Indian pacer we play, we are backing them and giving them a proper opportunity to learn. Chahar is our main bowler. As soon as he is back, our bowling unit will become much stronger,” Jadeja said.
There are concerns with the batting too. Ruturaj Gaikwad was the leading run-getter in IPL 2021 with 635 runs in 16 games, but his silken touch is eluding him right now. Scores of 0, 1 and 1 in the three games haven’t helped CSK build the kind of opening partnerships they usually rely on for their success.
“As far as Ruturaj is concerned, we are not putting too much pressure on him. Whatever preparation he’s been doing, we back him. We have been talking to him and keeping him in a good frame of mind,” Jadeja said.
Typical of CSK’s mode of operation, Jadeja doesn’t seem to be pressing the panic button. “In T20s, it is about one match and getting the winning momentum. We are searching for that first win. Once we win, we will get the rhythm,” said the 33-year-old.
CSK will hope their next game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday presents that opportunity.
