IPL 2018: Ravindra Jadeja's insipid performance against KKR reiterates why CSK need to drop him from playing XI

Chennai Super Kings beat defending champions Mumbai Indians in a thrilling season opener at Wankhede. The team then managed to win two more points by scraping through yet another last-over finish against Kolkata Knight Riders. Though both these matches could have gone either way, Chennai were fortunate to end on the right side of the result, and hence, there was more talk about the tenacity of this ’experienced’ side rather than the chinks in their armour. After losing their first match of the tournament against Kings XI Punjab, CSK captain MS Dhoni was asked about the machinations behind backing Ravindra Jadeja, who was sent above the in-form Dwayne Bravo during the 198-run chase. [caption id=“attachment_4456217” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ravindra Jadeja drops a catch during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Sportzpics[/caption] Dhoni said, “This is an experience for Jadeja to have a few shots and do the job as a floater. You need to give him the opportunity he deserves. I will definitely back him and at times teams can take a slow start.” On 3 May, CSK lost their reverse fixture against a clinical KKR, who chased down 178 at Eden Gardens with 14 balls to spare. Jadeja walked to the middle and joined his skipper in the 15th over when the score read 119. When he finally departed in the penultimate ball of the CSK innings, Jadeja had scored a run-a-ball 12 runs with a solitary four off Piyush Chawla. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik’s masterstroke of plying his spinners in the last three overs ensured Chennai didn’t fashion a late flourish as just one six came during those 18 balls and even that one six was Shubman Gill dropping a sitter at the square leg boundary. While it may be argued that Jadeja did the important job of rotating the strike to allow Dhoni to face the majority of balls, it also speaks volumes of the southpaw’s inability to back himself to hit those big ones when required. Against Sunil Narine in the 19th over, Jadeja faced four balls and could score just one run off the Windies spinner. This brings us back to Dhoni’s words after the Punjab match on 15 April, where he said Jadeja needs more opportunities. In a format like T20 where players often oscillate between the limelight and obscurity, Jadeja’s form begged the question — when does an opportunity become one too many? After the Punjab match, CSK won two matches on the trot. In their convincing 64-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, Jadeja was sent down the order after Sam Billings and Bravo. He bowled just one over in that match and his role was assigned to be one of the very few ‘good’ fielders in the Chennai side. In yet another last-over thriller, Chennai managed to eke out a four-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, where Jadeja bowled four economical overs. His role on the field was once again impressive as a running catch at extra cover to dismiss the dangerous Deepak Hooda and a match-changing dive saw him pouching the miscued pull off the SRH captain Kane Williamson’s bat. If catches win matches, then Jadeja’s dive ensured CSK their fourth victory in five games. In the high-scoring encounter against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Jadeja went for 22 runs in his two overs. However, his more important contributions on the field were a quick-thinking dive that saw Virat Kohli depart in the fifth over and an easy catch to dismiss Mandeep Singh who had smashed a quick-fire 32 to take the RCB score above the 200-run mark. A good day out on the field for Jadeja would have prodded the CSK think tank to send him up the order and give him the required opportunities Dhoni believed the all-rounder from Gujarat deserved. On Thursday, Jadeja walked out to the crease in the seventh over, ahead of players like Dhoni and Bravo. He didn’t stay for long as he dragged Yuzvendra Chahal’s delivery on to his stumps to depart for three runs in his short stay. More than his batting or bowling, it was Jadeja’s fielding that made the difference in matches against Mumbai and Delhi. It was getting clear that Jadeja’s main role in the CSK team was that of a floater who is more of a fielding all-rounder. Before Thursday’s match against Knight Riders, Jadeja played all the eight matches for CSK, sending down just 14 overs and scoring 59 runs. In Thursday’s match against Knight Riders, Jadeja’s run-a-ball innings proved to be a deterrent to the CSK total that settled for a par score of 177 at Eden Gardens. Considering the pitch got better in the second innings, CSK needed the fielding to be on point if they hoped to defend under the lights in Kolkata where more than 80 percent of the time, the chasing team emerged victorious. KKR’s Chris Lynn got off to a flying start smashing two consecutive sixes off Lungi Ngidi before the South African seamer got the better of Lynn forcing a faint edge that carried to Watson at first slip. CSK were off to the start they hoped for and the ball was handed to the unheralded seamer KM Asif who steamed in to bowl to Narine, whose batting style has given KKR an explosive start more often than not. Asif delivered three consecutive dot balls before Narine sent one flying over the long on boundary. On the very next delivery, Narine swatted Asif to wide mid-off where the ever-reliant Jadeja was stationed. Asif would have been pleased to add one more wicket to his tally since his impressive debut against the Daredevils side where he dismissed both their openers. Jadeja slid in with his eyes firmly on the ball and CSK would have been jubilant to dismiss both the openers in the first two overs. However, a regulation catch was spilled by CSK’s most reliable fielder and disappointment was rife in the CSK camp. Redemption wasn’t too far away as Asif bowled the very next delivery on the same line and Narine swatted it once again to mid-off where Jadeja was still stationed. Who would have guessed that one of India’s best fielders would mistime his jump and look all over the place when he fumbled with the catch and ultimately dropped Narine twice in two balls? A distraught Dhoni and a despondent Asif painted the picture of the sort of day CSK were to have at the Eden Gardens. There was a semblance of a redemption for Jadeja after all, as he picked up the wicket of Narine in the seventh over. But, Narine had already done his part by then, scoring 32 runs in just 20 deliveries smashing four boundaries and two big ones. Overall, it was a highly forgettable day for the Chennai team, and particularly for Jadeja, who was hoping to use this tournament to make his way back into India’s limited-overs side. Every single time he had been dropped from the national side owing to inconsistent performances, Jadeja has bounced back strongly riding on the back of imperious domestic outings and reclaimed his place in the playing XI. For someone who was a regular in the Indian line-up and even once topped the ICC bowlers rankings in Test and ODIs, his present stretch in the wilderness might be affecting his performances on the field. Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja’s erstwhile bowling partner for India, who is also undergoing a similar trial by fire in his attempt to make his way back into the limited-overs side, has impressed pundits and fans alike in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League with his captaincy and ability to reinvent his bowling. However, insipid performances from the ‘rockstar’ with both the bat and ball on Thursday, and even with his fielding, has heightened the risks of him falling by the wayside. In a thankless format like T20 where players often oscillate between the limelight and obscurity, when does an opportunity become one too many? Well, in Jadeja’s case, unless Dhoni, CSK coach Stephen Fleming and most importantly the southpaw himself decide otherwise, the writing on the wall might just be getting clearer.