MS is taking over as Chennai Super Kings captain for the rest of the Indian Premier League 2022 season from Ravindra, CSK announced a day before the team's clash against Hyderabad. "Ravindra has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS to lead CSK.
Chennai Super Kings announced on Saturday that MS is returning as their captain after Ravindra relinquished the role to "focus on his game". Ravindra was appointed captain two days before the start of the season, with MS handing over the role to the all-rounder.
But the franchise endured a difficult start to the campaign, winning just two of their first eight matches. "Ravindra has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS to lead CSK," the franchise said in an official statement. "MS has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest and to allow him to focus on his game," the statement further read.
Ravindra himself has not been at his best with bat or ball this season, and several experts had said that captaincy was taking a toll on the 33-year-old.
So far, in eight matches, Ravindra has scored 112 runs at an average of 22.40 and at a strike-rate of 121.74. With the ball, he has taken just five wickets in eight matches at an economy of 8.19 RPO.
Ravindra is clearly struggling with the bat, which is not a good sign. It is very important for him to perform with the willow because, if he keeps failing in the same manner, things will get extremely tough for the Chennai Super Kings. The pressure of captaincy is clearly showing on him, former India opener Akash Chopra had said.
MS had led CSK in every season the franchise played in the League since its inaugural edition in 2008. He captained them to four titles, with the latest one coming last year.
Ravindra, who has been with the franchise since 2012, became the third player to lead the Super Kings side, after MS and Suresh. MS had handed him the captaincy at the start of this League.
In the 213 matches in which MS led Super Kings - in the League and the now-defunct Champions League T20 (CL T20) - he recorded 130 wins, suffered 81 losses and won a record six titles spanning across the two competitions, four at the League and two at the CLT20.
Ravindra has only managed 112 runs from eight innings and picked up five wickets in 2022.
Ravindra told us today after discussing with the team management, and we respect his decision.
When asked if it affects the future plans of the team, considering Ravindra was seen as a long-term option, Viswanathan said, "We are focusing on this year and will try our best to find a way to qualify. About the future, we will decide about it later after this season."
I don't ask how they won, I have no business asking them why they lost, N Srinivasan, the boss of Chennai Super Kings, recently told a friend when asked about the series of defeats the team has suffered in 2022.
The comment was largely in line with his policy of non-interference in cricketing matters, giving captain MS full powers.
With Ravindra in charge, he seemed to indicate that his policy has not changed, but franchise insiders say the latest change in the leadership is not a mutual arrangement between Ravindra and MS, with the former expressing a desire to focus on his game and later willing to step in.
For the record, franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan said the decision was made on Saturday evening. "The team management has conveyed this to us, and we have accepted,".
It was not as simple as that statement appears. While some of that could be true, the management did not want to keep quiet when the defending four-time champions were getting beaten game after game. There are strong indications that Ravindra's hand was forced.
At some time during the last three days, discussions started on reinstating MS as the captain. The main worry was not exactly the poor leadership of Ravindra, but his poor form.
"The management cannot be silent that the world's best all-rounder is not performing to his best. Obviously, he is weighed down by the burden of captaincy," a CSK insider said.
For the record, Ravindra, who has been a star performer for the team over the years, has largely been under par this season - on 112 runs and five wickets (average 42, 8.19 economy rate) in eight games. "He even started dropping catches," the insider reminded.
CSK are currently in ninth place with two wins from eight games. Theoretically, they are still not out of contention for a berth in the play-offs and there is an impression in the franchise management that with MS back in charge, a turnaround is not difficult.
It is no secret that MS has a free hand in the CSK affairs, and it was only on his insistence that Srinivasan agreed for the change in the captaincy just days before the start of the season.
Now there is an impression, MS will be able to revive the team's fortunes. When contacted, Srinivasan told.
"I go with the captain's decision." He would not elaborate which captain he is going with - outgoing or incoming.
Reacting to the news of Ravindra stepping down as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings amidst a series of defeats, Irfan said that he felt for the cricketer from Gujarat. “I really Feel for Ravindra. Let’s hope it doesn’t affect him as a cricketer negatively,” Irfan wrote on Twitter.
Another former India cricketer, Virender told a cricket website that Ravindra stepping down as the captain may help Chennai Super Kings recover from their series of defeats in the current edition.
“We have been saying this from day 1 that if MS is not the captain then nothing can happen to Chennai. Better late than never. They still have the opportunity, they have matches in their hand, now there will be a turnaround,”.
Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings have had their worst season under Ravindra as captain. The team have won just two out of their nine matches played so far. They are currently placed 9th, the second last, in the points table.
The CSK management on Saturday announced that Ravindra had decided to step down from the captaincy role so that he could focus on his own performance. A statement from Chennai Super Kings said, “Ravindra has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS to lead CSK. MS has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest and to allow Ravindra to focus on his game.”
Even cricket commentator felt that the return of MS as captain might cheer fans, but ‘it is Ravindra who is the more critical person here.’
“If he found it a burden and if it releases him, this might be good news. But I hope he doesn’t feel a sense of failure because that could affect him for a while,”.
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