IPL 2022 | MS Dhoni told me last season he wanted to give Ravindra Jadeja a clean captaincy slate, reveals Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that MS Dhoni had told him about passing on the captaincy baton to Ravindra Jadeja after the title win last season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Fleming, however, said the timing of stepping down from the franchise’s captaincy was totally left to Dhoni.

“We have talked about it. It is something MS talked about with me during last season. The timing was though his call,” Fleming said at the virtual post-match press conference after CSK lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets in the IPL 2022 season-opener.

After twelve IPL seasons, four title triumphs and five runner-up finishes later, the 40-year-old Dhoni on Thursday (March 24) decided to hand over the CSK’s captaincy to his most trusted lieutenant, Ravindra Jadeja.

Fleming further mentioned that the transition from Dhoni to Jadeja as CSK captain has gone nicely.

“It has been documented widely to give Jadeja a clean slate going in the series (IPL). It was communicated to (Mr. Srinivasan) through the team. So, we have 100 per cent spoken about that. It has been a bit of transition here, it has been a little bit of change but went through nicely,” he added.

When asked about the defeat, Fleming said that the team looked nervous, and failed to access the conditions.

“What you found today was a team that started the tournament a little bit nervous. We didn't assess the conditions well, it can be a bit difficult here and we were just behind the eight-ball really. But that happened last year as well and we got a good catalyst for us to move ahead.

“The conditions were quite tough, it was very wet in the second half. Assessing conditions in the first part of the tournament is going to be a key aspect,” he signed off.

CSK will next take on one of two first-timers Lucknow Super Giants on March 31 at Brabourne Stadium.