IPL 2022 - Ravindra Jadeja reveals MS Dhoni informed him about change in CSK captaincy 'months ago': 'Was ready to lead'

Ravindra Jadeja said that he is under no pressure as captain after Chennai Super Kings fell to their third consecutive defeat this season.

Ravindra Jadeja revealed that he was told by MS Dhoni about a change in captaincy at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a few months ago. The franchise announced Dhoni's decision to step down as the team's captain and hand over the baton to Jadeja just a day before the start of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. 

Jadeja was announced as the new captain a day before the start of the season. (PTI)

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The announcement marked the end of an era, with Dhoni being the last of the captains who led teams in the first season of the IPL. Under him, CSK won the title four times and finished runners up five times, which means they had reached the final in nine of the 12 seasons they played in. 

CSK have not gotten off to the kind of start they would have hoped for in the new era, losing all of their first three matches of the season. Jadeja said after their latest defeat to Punjab Kings on Sunday that he is under no pressure as captain. 

“I have been preparing since (Dhoni) told me few months ago. Mentally, I was ready to lead. I don't have any pressure on me. I am just backing my instincts, going with whatever thoughts came to my mind,” Jadeja told reporters. 

Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who won the Orange cap last season as CSK won their fourth IPL title, has not been able to give them the kind of starts that fans had been accustomed to seeing in 2021. 

"No, we need to give him [Gaikwad] confidence as we all know he's a very good player. I'm sure he will come good." He also praised Shivam Dube, who has now scored back-to-back fifties.

"Dube has been batting well and I think keeping him in a good frame of mind is the key. We will try our best to work hard and come back stronger." I had no advice for Liam Livingstone, said Agarwal