IPL 2022: "Put the phone on Airplane Mode"- Virender Sehwag's advice to Ravindra Jadeja amid tough CSK season

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has advised new Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ravindra Jadeja to "put his phone on Airplane mode" for the rest of IPL 2022. He said if Jadeja focuses too much on the fans' criticism over CSK's dismal start to the season, he won't be able to make the right decisions on the field.

Pressured by the responsibility of filling MS Dhoni's massive shoes in the CSK saddle, Jadeja couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. The defending champions have lost three matches in a row for the first time in their IPL history. They are marred by top-order batting issues and a lack of depth in bowling. Any revival looks a far cry away and has left fans of one of the most successful teams frustrated.

Sehwag feels it's best for the all-rounder to stay away from social media. He cited the examples of many Indian greats, including Dhoni, saying that they even used to cut out all media in their tough phases. He told Cricbuzz:

"My advice for Jadeja would be that these things will continue, don't pay heed to them. If you think about that, you won't be able to concentrate on the field because whenever you make a decision, you'll continuously think, 'What will they say? What will the fans think? What will the teammates think?' You won't be able to take the right decision through all that... Put your phone on Airplane Mode. No one gives newspapers during this COVID phase anyway, you can keep your TV off. So just stay in your room and enjoy. The more you'll read and watch these things, the worse your mind will get. Whenever you want to update your social media, put the phone out of the Airplane mode and do that then put it back."

Sehwag added:

"I have seen it with Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Yuvraj Singh - whenever they go through a tough phase, they don't look at their mobile phone, TV, or newspaper. I feel he should practice, play video games and have fun."

CSK have stumbled to the third-last spot in the IPL 2022 points table. They have a chance to get their first points on the board as they take on bottom-placed SunRisers Hyderabad at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Saturday.

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CSK can still qualify, just need Dhoni's luck factor: Virender Sehwag

When asked about CSK's qualifying chances, Sehwag brought up Punjab Kings' second-half blunders and Mumbai Indians' come-from-behind qualification to suggest that it's still too early to rule Jadeja and Co. out. He said:

"I always give the example of how Punjab (Kings XI Punjab then and Punjab Kings now) dug their own grave. They won six out of seven matches, needed one match to qualify, and didn't win even one game after that and didn't qualify. These guys (CSK) have lost only three. We've seen Mumbai qualify after losing five matches. These teams that were so good, their performance and thinking also stuttered."

Sehwag added that CSK will also need Dhoni's "luck factor" at the toss, considering how Jadeja has won just one toss so far. He said:

"Till last year, Chennai's openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad used to give great starts. They didn't have any issues in the batting and the small things in bowling they used to manage because of Deepak Chahar's early strikes. This time both batting and bowling aren't doing well. So we are not seeing the Chennai of old. If they play as a unit, it's not like they can't qualify. They can but just need MS' luck factor at the toss."

Jadeja lost the toss against SRH as well and his team was asked to bat in the hot conditions. You can catch the live proceedings here.