With Indian cricket entering a new era under the leadership of Shubman Gill, the spotlight has turned to senior players like Ravindra Jadeja and whether they ever envisioned themselves leading the national side.
In a candid conversation on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel, recorded before the BCCI announced the squad for the England tour, Jadeja offered deeper insights into the complexities of captaincy, especially in T20 cricket, a format he believes is far more demanding than Tests when it comes to leadership.
“In Test cricket, you have to change two-three fielders as per the need of the bowler. Captaincy in Test cricket is different. It's simple, but calculative. It's not complicated like IPL or T20Is. In T20s, every ball is an event. Test cricket is not that hectic,”
Jadeja addressed the question about his aspiration to lead Team India. He said, “Yes, definitely Over the years, I have played under different captains. I know the mindset of every single captain that I have played under.”
Having started his international journey under MS Dhoni and later playing crucial roles during the captaincies of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Jadeja brings a wealth of experience from across eras. He reflected on the contrasting styles of his former captains, especially Dhoni’s simple yet sharp tactical approach.
He said, “For example, MS Dhoni... if he feels that a batter can hit in that region, he will simply take a fielder there. He wants to make them uncomfortable by not putting a fielder where they can't hit,”
Jadeja Reveals First Meeting With Dhoni
Jadeja recently recalled his first encounter with Dhoni in 2005 during the Challengers Trophy in Chennai, and he even admitted that he is still reluctant to approach him when he is not feeling his best.
"I first met MS Dhoni during the Challengers Trophy 2005 in Chennai. I was coming from Mumbai and I guess he was also coming from there in the same flight. I was sitting in the economy class and he was sitting in the business class. Everybody was saying Dhoni is sitting in front there but I was hesitant to meet him. Even now, I still get hesitant to meet him when he is not in the mood. He doesn't say anything but it's clearly visible on his face that he is not in the mood,"
