"It is impossible for me to understand" - Ajay Jadeja on MS Dhoni being appointed Team India's mentor
Ajay Jadeja has questioned the need to appoint MS Dhoni as Team India's mentor for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Selectors recently chose the 15-member Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. While making the announcement, BCCI secretary Jay Shah also shared that former Indian skipper Dhoni had agreed to take up a mentor's role for the T20 tournament.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Ajay Jadeja pointed out that he could not understand the motive behind the move. He said:
"It is impossible for me to understand. I am thinking for two days about what could be the thinking. I am not talking of MS Dhoni, the understanding he has or how useful he can be, I am not going towards that. It was like you sent Ravindra ahead of Ajinkya, the person thinks why it has been done."
The former India cricketer highlighted that MS Dhoni had already mentored Virat Kohli as skipper before he stepped down. Jadeja elaborated:
"I am surprised. There is no fan bigger than me of MS Dhoni. I believe MS Dhoni was the first captain who made the next captain before leaving or they used to always keep changing whenever they wanted."
MS Dhoni played under Kohli's leadership in white-ball cricket for more than two years after relinquishing his captaincy. He was extremely forthcoming with his suggestions to the new Indian skipper during the said period.
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"What happened overnight that a mentor was required?" - Ajay Jadeja on MS Dhoni's appointment
Ajay Jadeja added that the Indian team have done well under Kohli and Ravi Shastri, thereby not requiring such a decision to be taken. He observed:
"When you made and left and that player has taken that team to a different level, there is a coach who has taken the team to World No.1, what happened overnight that a mentor was required? That thinking is surprising me a little."
The 50-year-old signed off by pointing out that MS Dhoni and Kohli also have different styles of captaincy. Jadeja explained:
"The Indian cricket I am seeing is working in a different way. Dhoni used to run it one way, he used to play the spinners, he never used to play four fast bowlers. What happened for Indian cricket in England was the doing of four pacers. One person thinks one way, the other thinks some other way, probably it is an attempt to merge the two."
The BCCI might have appointed MS Dhoni as the mentor to ease the pressure on Virat Kohli, with the latter looking for his maiden ICC trophy as skipper. With the Indian captain not having been in the best of form, it could give him more time to concentrate on his batting.