Former India wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel is a little dismayed with MS Dhoni running the show and making decisions on the field for Chennai Super Kings while overshadowing the presence of new skipper Ravindra Jadeja.
CSK have got off to their worst IPL start ever as they lost their first two games for the first time in their IPL history: after suffering a defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the season opener, they were downed by the batting might of Lucknow Super Giants, failing to defend 210 runs.
While Dhoni had stepped down as CSK’s captain on the eve of the tournament, handing over the duties to Ravindra Jadeja, the former skipper was seen being constantly involved in decision-making during LSG’s run-chase. He was seen setting and changing fields, talking to the bowlers regularly while Jadeja was being rendered to a mere fielder.
Now, Parthiv Patel, Dhoni’s former India and CSK teammate, reckons the 40-year-old should allow Jadeja to take on more responsibilities and then only he will learn the different aspects of captaincy.
“If the idea was to develop a new leader, then you got to give him the freedom. Jadeja can only become a good captain if he is allowed to lead. He will only learn when he makes mistakes as a leader,” Parthiv Patel said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
On the same panel was former India batter Ajay Jadeja, who, too, was unhappy with Dhoni bossing around in spite of Ravindra being the designated captain. He asserted that although the all-rounder is inexperienced in terms of captaincy, Dhoni should have let Jadeja make all the decisions.
“It is wrong, there is no doubt about that… But even as a cricket fan, it looked a little odd. He (Jadeja) was standing right there and you continued to run the whole game. See, Dhoni is a very big player and I don’t like saying it out loud. But I didn’t like what I saw today,” Ajay Jadeja opined.
CSK will look to bounce back and get points on the board when they take on Punjab Kings on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium.
