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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) can attribute most of their successes to the captaincy of MS Dhoni. The four-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, however, saw the rise of a new skipper Ravindra Jadeja at the beginning of the 2022 season but things were not at their best for CSK. They are currently ninth on the points table with three wins and six losses but still stand a chance to make it to the playoffs, especially with Jadeja relinquishing the captaincy to Dhoni before the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Ahead of the match, at the toss, Dhoni was asked about the captaincy at the toss by broadcaster Danny Morrison. The 40-year-old replied to the same, saying, "You will definitely see me in the yellow jersey. Whether it is this yellow jersey or some other yellow jersey, you will have to wait and watch."
Dhoni captained CSK in all seasons of the IPL before the 2022 edition. He handed the role to Jadeja at the start of the ongoing season. But got back the responsibility after the franchise won only two out of the first eight matches. In addition to their poor form, Jadeja also struggled as a player, and Dhoni said that the demands of captaincy "affected" the mind of the all-rounder.
"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 after CSK's 13-run win over SRH.
Dhoni hopes Jadeja would find his form back now that he is not a captain. "Even if you relieve captainship and if you are at your best and that's what we want. We were also losing a great fielder, we are struggling for a deep mid-wicket fielder, still, we have dropped 17-18 catches and that's a matter of concern. These are tough games and hopefully, we will come back strong," he said.
