IPL 2021 | I never get the feeling that KL Rahul is a leader, says Ajay Jadeja

Punjab Kings (PBKS) made their playoffs qualification chances slimmer after losing by 6 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in match 48 of IPL 2021 in Sharjah on Sunday. The fifth-placed side has 10 points from 13 matches and a win in their last league match will not be enough to guarantee a playoffs berth. The results Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) fixtures and their margin of it are set to play a major role. 

Notably, the KL Rahul-led team had failed to make it to the top four in the IPL 2020 as well and another bad run has brought the captain's role under the scanner. The 29-year-old won the Orange Cap last year, and is leading the runs chart with 528 runs so far in his kitty. 

Ajay Jadeja has blatantly questioned KL Rahul's leadership while stating that lack of philosophy is hurting the opener and his team. He hinted that the someone else and not KL Rahul makes the changes to the playing eleven. 

“If you look at KL Rahul, he’s been the captain of this team for the past two years, I never get the feeling that he's a ‘leader’. Whenever this team has gone through a good phase or a bad phase, we never look at him. The team (PBKS playing XI) that’s playing today, the changes that have been made, do you think KL Rahul would have made that?

"Someone becomes an Indian captain based on his philosophy because he should be a leader. I have not seen that in KL Rahul so far because he’s very soft-spoken and adjusts to everything. If he becomes the captain one day, then it’s a certainty he’ll last the longest because a guy ready to adjust can stay longer in that position," Jadeja told Cricbuzz.

"But there are leadership qualities where whether I agree with his philosophy, the Indian captain should at least have one philosophy. Because there's a huge difference between the captaincy of an IPL team and the Indian team," he added.

The former India batsman also pointed out that the Karnataka batsman has the calmness like MS Dhoni but lacks decision-making skills, adding that he has allowed others "to run the team". 

“I don't know him personally and you see a different version of him too, but generally when he's on the ground, he has the calmness like MS Dhoni. There are good things too but the biggest thing is that you need to be a leader. People should be debating your decisions, 'Why is he doing this or that?'. That never happens to him, even in an IPL team, because he has not taken any responsibility upon himself, letting others run the team,” Jadeja concluded.