Captaincy pressure was affecting Ravindra Jadeja's game: M.S. Dhoni
The Hindu
Back at the helm of affairs, Dhoni produced instant results as CSK notched up a 13-run win over SRH to keep themselves afloat in the tournament
Talismanic Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels the pressure and demand of captaincy took a toll on Ravindra Jadeja and affected the all-rounder's mind, resulting in his below-par outing in Chennai Super Kings colours in the ongoing IPL.
Jadeja was anointed as CSK skipper for the ongoing season after Dhoni decided to step aside but the all-rounder failed to cope with the pressure and eventually gave up the job, forcing the franchise to fall back on their most trusted lieutenant.
Back at the helm of affairs, Dhoni produced instant results as CSK notched up a 13-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep themselves afloat in the tournament.
"I think Jadeja knew last season he'd be captaining this year. For the first two games, I oversaw his work and let him be later. After that, I insisted he'd take his own decisions and responsibility for them.
"Once you become captain, it means a lot of demands come in. But it affected his mind as the tasks grew. I think captaincy burdened his prep and performances," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Dhoni said Jadeja taking over the mantle of the side was a gradual transition, which he wanted.
"He knew and got enough time to prepare, what is important is you want him to lead the side and I wanted that transition to happen. At the end of the season, you don't want him to feel as the captaincy was done by someone else and I'm just going for toss.
He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.