IPL 2022: When Ravindra Jadeja expressed his desire to lead CSK after MS Dhoni

Just two days before the commencement of IPL 2022, MS Dhoni stepped down as captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with immediate effect. Star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been named his successor and it will be a huge responsibility for him going forward.

As Dhoni relinquished CSK’s captaincy, an old report of Jadeja expressing his interest to lead the Yellow Army has resurfaced on social media. Apparently, the southpaw had not made any statement in any of the interviews but had made his intentions clear in what supposedly seemed to be a social media poll.

When Ravindra Jadeja wished to lead CSK

It so happened that the CSK Fan Army, who are a die-hard fanbase of the Chennai Super Kings, as well as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, took to their official Twitter handle on September 14, 2021, i.e. just a few days before the second leg of IPL 2021 and had asked the public who they reckoned would lead the four-time winners after the veteran skipper steps down.

While people had their own opinions, the team’s active player  Ravindra Jadeja came forward and nominated his name for being the next captain.

😂⚔️🔥#WhistlePodu | @imjadeja 🦁 pic.twitter.com/Mnx93U9qCa

— CSK Fans Army™ 🦁 (@CSKFansArmy) September 14, 2021

The Gujarat cricketer was one of the franchise’s mandatory retentions before the two-day mega auction along with MS Dhoni, England all-rounder Moeen Ali and last season’s Orange Cap winner Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has been offered a staggering INR 16 crore which is the highest amount shelled out by the franchise for this year.

The onus will now be on him to take the defending champions to greater heights as they have a strong squad. CSK will be looking forward to winning a record-equaling fifth IPL crown. At the same time, it would also be interesting to see MS Dhoni giving some valuable inputs to the ‘Rockstar’ during crunch situations.

CSK begin their IPL 2022 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26.