IPL 2022 | "Whatever I saw, it was wrong"- Ex-cricketer not happy with MS Dhoni calling the shots against LSG

Former Indian cricketer-turned pundit, Ajay Jadeja, has opined that former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni should give his successor Ravindra Jadeja the freedom to call shots on the field.

The CSK suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season on Thursday night as they failed to defend 210 against debutants Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Throughout Lucknow's innings, it was evident that Dhoni was calling the shots on the field, as far as bowling changes and field placement is concerned, with Jadeja fielding at the boundary.

Dhoni's decision to give the penultimate over to Shivam Dube proved to be a disaster as Evin Lewis, and Ayush Badoni smashed the medium pacer for 25 runs to effectively seal the deal.

Speaking on CricBuzz Live following the end of the heart-pumping game, Ajay Jadeja said that it would have been fine on the part of Dhoni to be more involved in captaincy decisions had it been a knockout game, but since this was just the second match of the season, he didn't feel it was right.

"Whatever I saw, it was wrong. There is no doubt about that. There is no bigger fan of MS Dhoni than me. I am his fan because of the temperament and the things he does. If this were the last game on which your qualification depended, then I still would have understood. Sometimes you take back the reins because there is a need for it in those situations. But in the second game, we got to see this, and I am not saying just because it is Ravindra Jadeja."

"MS Dhoni is a big name. I do not like saying such things, but we are here talking about the game, so I have no doubts that what I saw today I did not like," he added.

Jadeja signed off by stating that since Dhoni decided to relinquish the leadership duties, he should now step back and let Ravindra take control.

He also felt that seeing Dhoni call the shots would have dented the Saurashtra cricketer's confidence.

"I feel there has never been a bigger captain than MS Dhoni, nor will there be one. So when it is your decision (to step down), and you want someone else (as captain), leave aside taking someone forward. You have taken the person backwards," he said.

"The confidence of that person (Jadeja) has taken a big dent. He was not there in the play itself, not at the beginning and nor in the end," he signed off.

CSK will next face Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 03.