The ongoing season of the IPL has gone from bad to worse for the ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Having had a torrid time as captain of Chennai Super Kings in the first 8 games of the season, the all-rounder has now been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
Jadeja, who had injured his ribs while fielding against Royal Challengers Bangalore, missed the game against Delhi Capitals after that.
"Ravindra Jadeja reported a bruised rib and was unavailable for Chennai Super Kings' game against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. He was under observation and based on medical advice he has been ruled out for the rest of the IPL season," a CSK statement read on Wednesday evening.
“Ravindra Jadeja won’t be playing CSK’s next two games as he has suffered a rib cage injury. He has already gone home,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was quoted as saying by PTI.
This season, Jadeja’s form too was a cause of concern for the Chennai franchise as he managed just 116 runs and 5 wickets in the 10 matches. Chennai have to play Mumbai, Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals in their final games.
While accepting the captaincy role, Jadeja said he had "big boots" to fill, but he was confident as Dhoni was still around and would continue to be his "go-to man". However, eight matches into Super Kings' season, he stepped down, saying he wanted to focus more on his game. Notably, Super Kings had won two of those eight matches under Jadeja, before Dhoni took the reins back.
Gujarat have already qualified for the knockouts while Mumbai have been eliminated and sit at the bottom of the table. Rajasthan are third and have played 11 games so far. It is quite unlikely that Chennai will be able to break into the top in the final phase of the league stage of the IPL.
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