'Was A Bit Shocked At First': Steve Smith Opens Up On Captaining MS Dhoni In IPL 2017
The former Australian captain remains the only one other than Ravindra Jadeja to have captained Dhoni in the IPL.
Even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the legends of the game with several cricket experts and pundits amazed by his ability to read the game and the take the calls that he takes, not only as a finisher but also a captain and a leader, there was one season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he wasn't the skipper.
Notably, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were handed a two-year ban and did not participate in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017. Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) was one the franchises that came for those two seasons and even though MS Dhoni led them in 2016, when the team finished seventh on the league table the franchise decided to hand over the leadership responsibilities to Steve Smith for the 2017 edition.
The former Australian captain remains the only one other than Ravindra Jadeja to have captained Dhoni in the IPL. The 33-year-old spoke about the experience in a recent media interaction.
"When I got the call to say that they wanted me to be captain, it was a little bit daunting. But that season, MSD was just wonderful. You know, he helped in any way that he could and he's a terrific guy. I didn't really know what to expect initially, you know, MS had captained every team he played for, obviously throughout the IPL with Chennai, every season should I say," Smith said on Star Sports.
"But yeah, they came and asked me, I was a little bit shocked at first, and then I didn't really know what to say. It was like, have you spoken to MS about this? This is a little bit strange from my side, but after we sorted everything out, MS was just wonderful," he added.
However, Smith said that he learnt a lot from the legendary CSK captain and keeping himself calm was one of the qualities that he tried to imbibe.
"The way he helped me and helped guide that team that year was incredible. And yeah, I couldn't thank him enough. He was someone that I was bouncing ideas off. I think just the calmness that MS shows, we saw it throughout his career, just how calm he was," he said.
Smith won't play in IPL 2023 after failing to get a bidder for himself at the auction but is set to make his debut as a commentator.
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