Kane Williamson and MS Dhoni
New Zealand and Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Mitchell Santner on Tuesday drew the similarities in captaincy between Kane Williamson and MS Dhoni.
In an Instagram Live session for Chennai Super Kings, Santner reckoned that the former Indian captain is a 'very instinctive' captain and that he has often wondered about changes or decisions made by him during the game only to be solved when desired results are achieved. Meanwhile, for Williamson, Santner feels, he has his set plans ready.
"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.
"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."
The New Zealander, who played just four matches in IPL 2019, said that he is trying to pick Dhoni's calm and composed approach during matches.
"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," Santner said.
