"Going To Be Very Good For The Team": Sunil Gavaskar On CSK Captaincy Change

Chennai Super Kings on Saturday announced that Ravindra Jadeja was stepping down from the captaincy role, with the reins of the team being handed back to long-time skipper MS Dhoni. The decision came midway through the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season, with the franchise struggling near the bottom of the points table. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that the decision would serve the team well as decision making would become a more instant process. He pointed out that Jadeja had been consulting Dhoni for some decisions, but now, Dhoni could just take the calls directly.

Jadeja has been seen talking to Dhoni while discussing field placements and bowler changes, and often with the all-rounder fielding in the deep, Dhoni was seen setting the fields himself.

Gavaskar was asked on Star Sports ahead of Sunday's match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals if the change in captaincy would have a real effect on the team.

"It'll change a lot, in terms of bowling changes, in terms of field placements. And he's been doing that even when he was playing for India as a player and not as a captain. I think the most important thing will be in terms of the batting order," the legendary batter said.

"A lot of times you would have had Jadeja wanting to do something and he would probably be thinking 'what will MSD do, go to MSD, check with MSD'. Now that doesn't happen. Now there is someone who will take the decisions straight away and that's going to be very, very good for the team," Gavaskar explained.

He also spoke about how Dhoni being a proven captain would help the team.

"If you're a performing captain, people think that he's a performing captain, I want to do something to please him. But as far as MSD is concerned, he has proved himself as a captain," he said.

"Therefore it was important for him to be a performing captain. With MSD, whether he performs or not, he has been accepted by the cricketing world, not CSK, by the whole cricketing world as a captain. So whether he performs or not, it doesn't matter. Just the fact that he's the captain, you will find that the atmosphere in the CSK change room is one of optimism, one of enthusiasm," Gavaskar concluded.

The franchise will play their next match on Sunday against SunRisers Hyderabad.

Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2022 Chennai Super Kings Sunil Gavaskar Ravindra Jadeja MS Dhoni Cricket