Mitchell Santner highlights similarities between MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson as captains

Santner admitted that playing under Dhoni at CSK has helped him learn about the game better.

Mitchell Santner | GettyNew Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner, who has played under the leadership of both MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson, recently drew parallels between the two captains.

As per Santner, there are a lot of similarities between Dhoni and Williamson when it comes to keep calm on the field.

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The Kiwi cricketer also admitted that playing under Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has helped him learn about the game better.

Santner further highlighted that Dhoni is a 'very instinctive' captain while Williamson has his set plans but never lets the situation get the better of him.

"I think they are very similar in the way they conduct themselves on the field. They try to be very calm and relaxed. Dhoni is very instinctive with his decisions. He just has slight changes of field and changes in bowling and stuff," Santner said while speaking to sports producer Rupha Ramani on an Instagram live session with CSK.

"Especially, when I was bowling... obviously I haven't played against a lot of these batters. He has got a good idea about how everyone plays their shots... moves someone slightly to where he would play his favourite shot.

"The more you get to play against players, you get that feel. You might think 'Dhoni, why are you doing that?' And then it works, more often than not.

"I think Kane is very similar when it comes to how he portrays himself on the field. He doesn't get heated up in the battle and has set plans and executes them.

"It's got to be MS (chattier captain) because he is behind the stumps. He has got to get into the batsman's head. Whereas Kane hides at mid-off and talks to the bowlers."

Mitchell Santner was roped in by CSK for INR 50 Lakh at the IPL 2018 auction. While the left-arm spinner didn’t feature in the 2018 edition due to an injury, he played 4 matches in IPL 2019 and produced some crucial all-round efforts in their run to the final.

Sharing his experience with the Super Kings, the 28-year-old said: “When you play with guys who've played against, they look different. You get to understand them more. l always wanted to play with guys like Dhoni. Playing for New Zealand, I have played India a lot, home and away. Just the way he kind of goes about his business is calm and relaxed.”

"I obviously tried to do something similar. And then you get to speak to those guys, it's all such a good learning space for growing your game," he continued.

(Inputs from India Today)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 13 May, 2020

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