Steve Smith discusses how surprised he was when the Pune management first asked him if he wanted to be the team’s leader.
Steve Smith taught from MS Dhoni
It was a bit intimidating. But Dhoni was really fantastic in that season,” he remarked.The Rising Pune Supergiants chose Steve Smith over Mahendra Singh Dhoni to serve as the team’s captain for the 2017 Indian Premier League, which was a fairly unexpected choice. The Pune franchise came very close to winning the championship despite losing the championship game by one run.
Given that he had been given the role ahead of Dhoni, one of the most successful IPL captains, the Australian found the task intimidating.
He’s obviously going to be remembered as one of the finest leaders to have ever played the game because of all that he’s accomplished over the course of so many years. As a result, I found it a little intimidating when I received the call telling me that I was to captain. MSD, though, was fantastic throughout that time.
In addition to being a great man, he offered assistance in every way he could. Being able to lead him was fantastic, but it was also incredibly intimidating, according to Steve Smith, who spoke to Star Sports. The cricket player from Australia is a member of the IPL’s broadcaster’s expert panel for this season.
“Initially, I wasn’t sure what to anticipate. While playing for Chennai in the IPL, MS led every squad he was a part of, I should say every season. But when they arrived and inquired, I was initially a little taken aback and then I was unsure of what to respond.
Have you discussed this with MS, the question went. It’s a little funny coming from my perspective, but MS was fantastic after we had everything all out. Additionally, he was amazing in the manner he supported me and helped lead that squad that year. Yes, I could not express enough gratitude to him.
“I was exchanging thoughts with him. He has an incredible perspective of the game from behind the stumps. He is playing in India, which he certainly knows well because it is his native country and he is quite familiar with the circumstances there.
So, if I hadn’t been trying to learn as much as I could from him in the midst, I would have been foolish. And he was really helpful, undoubtedly aiding in our accomplishments that year.
Steve Smith added, when asked about the qualities he has been able to pick up from Dhoni over the years and imitate: “I think just the calmness that MS demonstrates, we witnessed it throughout his career, just how calm he was.
He didn’t appear to be upset by any feelings or anything like. And it’s definitely something I saw when watching him go about his job in the previous years, not only during that season, how composed and at ease he was. I have been known to become extremely irritated at times. I must thus make an effort to maintain as much composure and rationality as I can. That’s definitely something I picked up from MS, too.