Dwaine Pretorius hopes to bring calmness and self-belief from MS Dhoni’s game

The talented bowling all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius made his First-Class debut in 2011. However, he got an opportunity to represent the national team five years later. Since then, he has been a steady customer in both departments of the game. 

In 49 matches across all three formats, Pretorius has scalped 61 wickets and has garnered 428 runs. In the 2022 edition of CSA T20 Challenge, the 33-year-old scored 146 runs and picked up 5 wickets in 7 matches. Soon, he was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) stint. 

In six matches, the South African cricketer contributed 44 runs and picked up six wickets in as many appearances. His finest performance with the bat came when he scored 22 off 14 and supported MS Dhoni in a successful chase of 156 against Mumbai Indians (MI).

The South Africa team is on tour to India to play 5 T20Is scheduled from June 9 to 19. On Monday (June 6), Pretorius shared his thoughts on MS Dhoni and his IPL experience at a press conference in Delhi. 

"I really enjoyed playing under Dhoni and batting with him; seeing the brand he has in India shows you how big he is and what he's done for the sport in this country," Pretorius said. 

The all-rounder reckoned that he learned calmness from Dhoni, and realized that the bowler is under greater pressure 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. He made me realize that, at the death, the batter isn't under more pressure. It's actually the bowler who is under more pressure," the Protea added.

Pretorius hopes to emulate Dhoni’s calmness and self-belief into his game, and win the matches for the green and gold. 

"He doesn't get too excited. He doesn't get too down on himself. Anything is always possible. He's very optimistic. He believes he can do anything. I'm going to try and bring that into my game - the calmness but also the self-belief that, from any position, any game can be won," the lanky all-rounder added.

The Randfontein-born reckoned that he relished the opportunity to feature for the four-time IPL champions like CSK in his debut IPL stint and added that the Dhoni-led franchise gives the freedom to every player to come up with their respective plans. 

"Playing in my first IPL was a great experience. It was one of my bucket-list items, so I'm very glad I got the opportunity for CSK - one of the most successful franchises. It's a very performance-based set-up, so you get a lot of responsibility as a player," Pretorius concluded. 

The 1st T20I between India and South Africa will be played in Delhi on June 9. For the visitors, Pretorius will be a crucial player in creating inroads in the Indian batting unit and providing handy contributions in the lower middle-order to offer a late flourish.