Former India opener Virender Sehwag, who has played a lot of cricket with both MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, said Chennai Super Kings' decision to appoint Jadeja as their captain at the start of IPL 2022 was a 'wrong' one. Barely a couple of days before the start of this IPL, Dhoni decided to hand over the CSK leadership to Jadeja. But after the defending champions managed to win just 2 matches out of 8, the all-rounder decided to give the captaincy back to Dhoni.
"The first mistake they did was at the start of the season when they announced that MS Dhoni won't be captaining and it will be Ravindra Jadeja, it was a wrong decision," Sehwag told Cricbuzz after CSK were more or less knocked out of playoff contention after suffering a 13-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune on Wednesday.
Watch: Girl proposes RCB fan during CSK innings, Jaffer gives hilarious response
CSK are currently at number 9 in the points table with just three wins. Sehwag said if Dhoni had been the captain from the beginning of the season, then the story could have been different for the four-time champions. The former opener also highlighted the poor form of CSK batters as one of the main reasons for their sorry tale in this IPL.
"There was no settled playing XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad didn't score run in the beginning. They started off poorly, the batters didn't score runs and from there on, there season was always going to be full of turmoil. If Dhoni had been the captain from the beginning then it would've been better and maybe CSK wouldn't have lost match so many matches," Sehwag added.
{{/usCountry}}"There was no settled playing XI. Ruturaj Gaikwad didn't score run in the beginning. They started off poorly, the batters didn't score runs and from there on, there season was always going to be full of turmoil. If Dhoni had been the captain from the beginning then it would've been better and maybe CSK wouldn't have lost match so many matches," Sehwag added.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Du Plessis 'surprised' by CSK's decision to reinstate Dhoni as captain
Sehwag said Dhoni's wicket in the 19th over was crucial as CSK still had an outside chance to pull off the 174-run chase if their captain batted till the end.
"The most important wicket was of MS Dhoni. When Hazlewood comes on to bowl he does not try to bowl yorkers or bouncers. He bowls at a length where the batters have to take a risk. It is not easy to face him with the bounce he gets from his height," he added.
RCB's Glenn Maxwell left a telling impact on the match with ball as he returned with figures of 2 for 22. Sehwag said he was surprised that experienced cricketers like Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa allowed the off spinner to bowl.
"I was surprised that Rayudu and Uthappa, two Indian batters, getting out to the off-spin of Maxwell. The over off whom you were supposed to score 20 runs in one over, you ended with a spell of 2-22," Sehwag added.