"Don't think Rajasthan Royals will agree" - Former RCB batter's huge take on Ravindra Jadeja amid trade rumors ahead of IPL 2026 retention deadline

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Mohammad Kaif made a massive take on Ravindra Jadeja's captaincy demand amid trade rumors ahead of the IPL 2026 retention deadline. Jadeja, along with Sam Curran, is likely to move to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange for Sanju Samson.

Reports also emerged that Ravindra Jadeja has demanded captaincy at RR. However, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that the star all-rounder will not be handed captaincy if the trade goes through. Notably, Jadeja began his IPL journey with RR in 2008.

"I don't think Jadeja will be made captain of Rajasthan Royals because he is not the same as he was when he played for them in 2008. But he’s not the same player after such a long break, all the players have changed, it’s a new setup. So if he’s coming back to Rajasthan Royals after many years, I don’t think he should or will be made captain. If he’s making demands like “make me captain, then I’ll come,” I don’t think Rajasthan Royals will agree to that," he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif further added that RR would plan to make Riyan Parag the captain after Samson's exit. Notably, Riyan led in a few games last season when Samson was out due to injury.

The former RCB batter also reckoned that captaincy is not Ravindra Jadeja's cup of tea. Jadeja captained CSK in 2022 but had to step down midway as the team did not perform well.

"Their plan is to back Riyan Parag since he got captaincy experience last year, and this year they want him to learn from the mistakes he made before and improve. And as for Jadeja, he doesn’t really like captaincy anyway. He was captain at CSK also but he did not like it. Captaincy is not everyone's cup of tea. You might be a great all-rounder, but leadership is different; you have to put your own game aside and look after 10 players, even 20 sometimes. It takes a lot of energy. You have to have many meetings, talk to players, stand on the nets, that's a whole different skill, man, a totally different skill."

Under Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, CSK lost six out of their eight matches with just two wins. MS Dhoni had to return as captain for the franchise midway through the season.

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Mohammad Kaif on how captaincy affected Ravindra Jadeja

While CSK did not do well under Ravindra Jadeja, the all-rounder himself failed to deliver as a player while he was captain. Among the best fielders in the world, the pressure of captaincy got him such that he dropped simple catches as well.

"When he became captain for Chennai, you remember, right? He dropped a simple catch. Jadeja’s an amazing fielder, probably one of the best you’d say he could catch with his eyes closed, even while half asleep. Such a great fielder. But captaincy? That’s a different pressure altogether. You have to constantly think about when to change the bowling, who to play, and all that. It really makes your brain work hard. I don’t think he’s really cut out for that. I don't think he will make such a demand but it will not be accepted even if he does," Kaif elaborated.

In the eight matches that he captained CSK, he scored just 112 runs and picked up only five wickets. Moreover, he went wicketless in five matches and dropped three catches in total.