Jadeja harbours dreams of Test captaincy

'Over the years, I have played under different captains. I know the mindset of every single captain whom I have played under and I also understand what players need and their mindset.'

Ravindra Jadeja made his Test debut in 2012 and has played 80 Tests since

IMAGE: Ravindra Jadeja made his Test debut against England in 2012 and has played 80 Tests since. Photograph: BCCI

He may not be among the names considered for the job but veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja says he would love to be India's Test skipper at some point, having understood the role under different captains throughout his long career.

Young batter Shubman Gill was recently appointed as India's Test captain for the tour to England with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant designated to do the duty of his deputy.

When asked whether Test captaincy was among his ambitions, 36-year-old Jadeja told his former India teammate Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube podcast: "Yes, definitely! Over the years, I have played under different captains. I know the mindset of every single captain whom I have played under and I also understand what players need and their mindset."

A veteran of 80 Tests, Jadeja, who made his Test debut against England back in 2012, detailed some of the leadership lessons he picked up from the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, under whom he made his India debut in all three formats, besides playing together for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

"Every captain has a different mindset on how he wants to run the team. I have played under MS Dhoni in every format and his thinking is very simple. If he feels that a batter can hit shots in a particular region, he keeps the fielder there to make the batter uncomfortable," said Jadeja.

Breaking down the leadership requirements in different formats, Jadeja admitted that leading in T20s can take much more out of a captain than doing that job in Test cricket.

"In Test cricket, you have to change two or three fielders as per the need of the bowler and you don't need to change the field as per batsmen.

"Captaincy in Test cricket is way more different. It's simple, but calculative. It's not complicated like IPL or T20s, where every ball is an event," said Jadeja.

It may be recalled that Ashwin had also supported Jadeja for India's Test captaincy once Rohit Sharma called it quits from the red-ball format.

'Why do we forget about Ravindra Jadeja? If you are willing to go for a new person as captain, I would say why not make him an understudy of an experienced guy for two years before handing him the job on a full-time basis?' Ashwin had asked on his YouTube channel in support of his fellow spinner.