Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels Ravindra Jadeja is not a natural captain and looked like a ‘fish out of water’ during his short stint as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain. Incidentally, the all-rounder was handed over the reins of leading the franchise ahead of IPL 2022.
However, Jadeja had a disastrous time and looked clueless in pressure situations. The Chennai franchise also had an awful start to their campaign, losing the first matches. Eventually, he relinquished the duties and it was handed over back to MS Dhoni.
“He [Jadeja] is not a natural captain. He hasn’t captained at any level. So, to give him the responsibility I thought was a little hard on Jadeja,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out.
“People might want to judge Jaddu, but it’s not his fault. He hasn’t captained anywhere. He looked a fish out of water, totally out of place and he’s far better off playing as a player. Because he’s one of the best around in the business, when it comes to allrounders,” he added.
Meanwhile, additional responsibilities also took a toll on Ravindra Jadeja’s individual performance. The Saurashtra-born all-rounder has looked miles away from his best, managing only five wickets in 10 matches. He has not looked best with the best, an area where he has got better in the last few years, scoring only 116 runs.
Captaincy affected Ravindra Jadeja’s fielding – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri believed that being one of the best fielders also meant Ravindra Jadeja as captain wasn’t being able to do justice to his best qualities. The 59-year-old former cricketer added:
“Another aspect of Jadeja is he is one of the best fielders, if not the best. When you’re the best, you have to patrol the deep, where there are sweepers or you need deep midwicket, deep square-leg, long-on, long-off.”
“These are areas the best fielders go to because of their ability to cover distances and catch the ball. If you’re captain of the side and you hedge your bets wanting to be in the circle to marshall resources and control things, your side is the loser,” he concluded.
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