T20I WC 2021 | Unable to understand why India required a mentor all of a sudden, quips Ajay Jadeja

09/12/2021

Ajay Jadeja has stated that it was beyond his understanding as to why MS Dhoni was appointed as India's mentor for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman. Jadeja also explained how Virat Kohli and Dhoni think differently, and the appointment might've been an attempt to merge the two.

The cricket world went into a frenzy last week, when BCCI president Jay Shah announced that MS Dhoni was appointed as mentor for the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.

Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja, however, stated that he couldn’t comprehend the reason behind the call.

“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,” said Jadeja in a conversation with Sony Sports Network.

“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,” he added.

While Jadeja maintained that he was a great fan of Dhoni, he wondered why the call was made, given India's recent success under Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri. He also emphasized on the fact that with both Kohli and Dhoni having entirely different approaches, the appointment might've been an attempt to merge the two.

"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,” Jadeja said.

“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,” he added before signing off.

The T20I World Cup is scheduled to start on October 17. India’s first outing will be against Pakistan exactly a week later.