Was it necessary for Ravindra Jadeja to step down as CSK skipper?

CSK hasn’t had the finest IPL season thus far, and with only three victories from nine games, their dream of qualifying for the playoffs is in danger. With Ravindra Jadeja stepping into the captaincy shoes for the first time, the legacy left behind by MS Dhoni to continue with was a big task for him. While everyone thought that he was young, and this was the right time to learn the bits of the new role, it seemed to have backfired on him when he lost his touch in the game.

With CSK’s backs against the wall and every game counting as a must-win game, Jadeja may have concluded that turning up the captaincy to MS Dhoni was the best option. Jadeja was not able to bring his A-game this season when the team and the fans had a lot of expectations from him. But due to the added captaincy pressure, and the multiple losses in the season, he lost his touch not just with the bat, but also with the ball.

There were moments in the games when MS Dhoni was seen taking the on-field decisions when the official captaincy was with Jadeja. The all-rounder kept turning up to Dhoni while taking any big decisions, and it seemed like the game was run by not one, but two skippers. Dhoni had led the franchise since its inception, and Jadeja was very new to the setup.

After such awful performances in the game, it was somewhat necessary for Jadeja to hand over the captaincy to Dhoni. It has been proven that even though Dhoni was out of form last season, he led the team to the fourth IPL title. But Jadeja is at the peak of his career, and he has been doing well in the international circuit as well.

In that sense, it was necessary for him to focus on his skills with the bat and the ball, rather than looking at the captaincy. That being said, MS Dhoni will look to carry on what he had left behind at the end of the IPL 2021 and look to shed light on the team’s way further in the campaign.