"He has got to encourage his bowlers" - Brad Hogg on CSK captain Ravindra Jadeja
Former Australia international Brad Hogg feels Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ravindra Jadeja should encourage his bowlers more as the defending champions look to continue their winning momentum. Chennai lost their first four games in IPL 2022, their worst start in IPL history, before tasting success against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Jadeja, who took over the baton from MS Dhoni at the start of the season, has looked clueless in pressure situations, forcing Dhoni to marshal the troops. Hogg believes Jadeja should enjoy the role of building the confidence of the IPL team. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Australian cricketer said:
"When he is out on the field, it's a different situation. He has got to encourage his bowlers to get the best out of them. All the bowlers are there with their plans, and Jadeja just needs to give them the encouragement and back the delivery they want to bowl. He doesn't have to tell them what to do at any stage. It's just about that encouragement. He needs to enjoy the leadership role under pressure to build team confidence."
However, the 33-year-old India all-rounder said that he is still learning and picking up the nuances of leadership with each game. Jadeja's challenge will be to motivate the team and continue their winning run in the competition as CSK look to bounce back in the 15th edition of the tournament.
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Jadeja shouldn't allow himself to feel the pressure - Brad Hogg
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The additional responsibility of captaining the side has had a telling impact on Jadeja's performance.
Despite batting higher in the batting order, the CSK captain has only garnered 66 runs in five games. With his left-arm spin, the ace all-rounder has scalped four wickets, out of which three came in the last game against RCB.
Hogg said that Jadeja should take a leaf out of former Australia captain Ricky Ponting's book and focus on his cricket and not let the pressure affect his game. Hogg added:
"I played a lot with Ricky Ponting who never felt as though he was captaining when he was batting. He didn't allow himself to feel the pressure as well. He just wanted to focus on his batting. Jadeja should do the same."
Brad Hogg concluded:
"We had the coaches on the sidelines and a good vice-captain in Adam Gilchrist, especially in the shorter format. If we needed to send in a pinch-hitter, we would send a pinch-hitter because Ricky Ponting would trust the leadership group to make that decision. It's about understanding the leadership group and working with the leadership group to take pressure off yourself as the leader while you're batting."
With two points in five games, CSK are ninth in the IPL 2022 points table. According to the IPL schedule 2022, they will lock horns with Gujarat Titans in their next outing on Sunday.