MS Dhoni feared for his spot in India's T20I team: CSK insider on why Ravindra Jadeja was removed as captain

Ravindra Jadeja is reportedly on the verge of leaving Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after falling out with the team management. Jadeja was removed as the captain of the franchise midway through the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season earlier this season having taken over the baton from MS Dhoni ahead of the start of their campaign.

The star India all-rounder has reportedly not been in touch with the CSK management since leaving the team hotel during IPL 2022 in May this year. Jadeja was ruled out due to an elbow injury and has since severed all ties with the franchise while also deleting all CSK-related posts from his social media accounts.

As per a report in the Times of India, Jadeja is set to leave CSK unless something miraculous happens in the next couple of months. The all-rounder has been completely 'out of touch' with the CSK management and had taken the decision to take away captaincy from him as an 'insult'.

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As per the report, Jadeja was asked to leave captaincy for his own good. A CSK insider told TOI that Dhoni feared for Jadeja's spot in India's T20I team after the dip in his performances following the captaincy burden.Dhoni was reappointed as captain when Jadeja was removed after CSK managed only 2 wins in their first 8 matches of the season.

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While the team didn't get off to an ideal start, Jadeja's personal performances were far from good. The all-rounder failed to fire with the bat and was also not at his best on the field as he dropped a couple of catches. Jadeja is regarded as one of the best fielders in the present era and witnessing him drop catches was hard to believe for many.

"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 had said during IPL 2022 after returning as CSK captain following Jadeja's ouster.

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It remains to be seen if CSK will manage to convince the Indian all-rounder to keep the differences aside and continue to stay at the franchise. The 4-time champions had retained Jadeja as their first-choice player for a whopping Rs 16 crore (INR 160 million) ahead of the mega auction this year. He had joined CSK in 2012 and has since won two IPL trophies with the franchise.