Shashwat Kumar was in Mumbai as Ravindra Jadeja played a central role with the ball and in the field, reiterating his importance to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and their 2023 title charge.

Let us get this straight right at the start. There is no denying Jadeja’s all-round quality. The IPL, though, had not been very kind to him since the start of 2022.

It began with him taking over as captain from MS Dhoni, only to be relieved of his duties mid-season. He was then ruled out of that campaign with an injury, and until November 2022, his CSK future was up in the air.

In 2023, he began with a tidy bowling display but could not prevent Gujarat Titans from chasing down CSK’s total. A few days later, he only bowled a solitary over against Lucknow Super Giants, even as Mitchell Santner and Moeen Ali turned the ball square at Chepauk.

Thus, there were a few restless groans when CSK turned up at the Wankhede Stadium vis-à-vis Jadeja. The all-rounder, though, in his inimitable style, stood up, with the ball and in the field.

MI had blazed away to 61-1 after the powerplay. With Cameron Green and Ishan Kishan at the crease, they were set to capitalise on the middle overs too. The pitch, up until then, looked excellent for batting, meaning the pressure was on Jadeja.

The first ball he bowled was to Kishan from around the wicket. Ishan, being a left-hander, would have wanted to heave Jadeja over the leg side. The left-arm spinner, however, hid the ball just enough outside off stump to force a square cut.

On the fourth ball of the over, Kishan could not resist the urge to swing across the line. He tried to muscle a back of a length delivery outside off stump over cow corner but only found the sweeper at long on.

In the ninth over, just as Green was looking to accelerate, Jadeja produced a moment of magic. The ball was on a full length outside off stump and Green blasted it back towards the bowler.

Jadeja barely flinched and snapped up the return catch with consummate ease, even as umpire Chris Gaffaney was ducking for cover, and ended up on all fours. Not many clad in yellow, or for that matter in any IPL shade, would have caught that.

Jadeja, after three overs, had figures of 3-0-11-2. The last over he bowled, which was the 13th of the innings, saw him concede a six off the fifth ball. On the final ball, though, Jadeja snuck the ball past N Tilak Varma’s inside edge and trapped him right in front of the stumps.

These wickets, on most days, would not make highlight reels because Jadeja did not rip the ball past the edges and did not leave the stumps in a mess. And if pure match-ups are concerned, Jadeja had no business scalping two left-handed batters in a four-over spell while giving away only 20 runs, considering his economy rate against left-handed batters in the IPL stands at more than eight runs per over.

But therein lies the beauty of his bowling. It does not have the flashiness that a leg-spinner would bring to the fore, or the cool jargon that a match-up would throw in. It does have the consistency that CSK dearly crave, though, especially in the middle overs.

Against MI on Saturday, neither Moeen or Stokes featured. In some games, there is a possibility that Mitchell Santner might not make the starting eleven. And if CSK’s Indian pacers keep struggling, they might be forced to play Dwaine Pretorius and Sisanda Magala every game, ridding them of the luxury to play an overseas spinner.

Thus, it is imperative that Jadeja keeps bowling in this fashion. Dhoni loves handling spinners and he seems in complete control when the ball starts gripping. Much of that is because he knows what to expect from Jadeja, and from the confidence that Jadeja will deliver more often than not.

It also ties into the range of emotions CSK fans went through at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Thousands of them lined up on Marine Drive more than an hour before the game. There were queues, drums and chants just to catch a glimpse of Dhoni. That is understandable, because he, even at the age of 41, is probably the only person who can still make them dream.

They might have signed up for the Dhoni show but they ended up witnessing a first-hand premiere of why Jadeja is arguably CSK’s most influential player. He fielded brilliantly, bowled with metronomic control and tilted the scales CSK’s way almost single-handedly.

If CSK last the distance, you’d assume Jadeja would have had a central, crucial and starring role throughout the season. Based on what happened against MI at the Wankhede Stadium, you would not be wrong in that assessment either.