“MS Dhoni believes he can do anything”- Dwaine Pretorius reveals learnings from Dhoni

“MS Dhoni believes he can do anything”- Dwaine Pretorius reveals learnings from Dhoni

Dwaine Pretorius and MS Dhoni

South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has started to believe that he can do anything on the field after his stint in the Chennai Super Kings franchise, where he had the first-hand experience to converse and play with MS Dhoni. He learned that it’s the bowler who has more pressure than the batsman in the death overs.

“The biggest thing I learnt from him is how calm he is at the crease and how much he tries to take pressure off himself and put it onto the bowler,” said Pretorius, who will play five T20I against India, which will start on June 9.

“He made me realise that at the death, the batter isn’t under more pressure, it’s actually the bowler that is under more pressure.”As a bowler, you can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls and as a batter you can win it. It was a fresh mindset. He doesn’t get too excited. He doesn’t get too down on himself. Anything is always possible and I love that about him. He is very optimistic. He believes he can do anything.”

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“I am going to try and bring that into my game”- Dwaine Pretorius

Dwaine Pretorius
Dwaine Pretorius and MS Dhoni

The most memorable partnership came against Mumbai Indians when CSK were chasing 156 runs and they needed 50 runs off 26 balls. Dwaine Pretorius walked out to bat and a yorker from Jasprit Bumrah and Pretorius hit two fours off him. When CSK needed 17 runs off five balls, Dhoni’s four off the final delivery helped CSK win the match.

“I am going to try and bring that into my game: the calmness but also that self-belief that from any position, any game can be won.”

“What was nice about the CSK franchise is that it is very experienced. We all understand that cricket doesn’t always go your way,” Pretorius said. “It’s very important to just take the positives out of a bad season and try and build for a stronger future. It’s all about building for the next year or three years and trying to make sure a bad season is not a complete loss,” Pretorius added.

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