Dhoni gives you enough chances to succeed: Dwayne Smith

“Chennai Super Kings is the best cricket team that I have ever been a part of. You feel very relaxed in the CSK dressing room. The set-up is such and everything is taken care of. You have a coach like Stephen Fleming and a friend like Suresh Raina. But above all there is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. When I came into the CSK set-up, they make you feel at home and comfortable,” the 32-year-old told PTI in an interaction.

The best aspect of Dhoni’s leadership is his ability to give a player chance to succeed.

“With MS, you can never <g data-gr-id="47">complaint</g> that you did not get your share of chances. He gives you ample opportunities to succeed and then it’s <g data-gr-id="48">upto</g> you take those chances. He is an honest cricketer, one of the best in the world and has a thinking brain. He would always tell you to not get worried about everything and play freely.

“Over the past couple of seasons, I have tried to closely watch Dhoni and imbibe a lot of things from his captaincy and tried to imbibe that in my game. Certainly, the stint at CSK and interactions with Dhoni has made me a better cricketer,” confesses Smith.

Smith had an average IPL for CSK this season in which he managed 399 runs in 16 matches at an average of close to 25 and a strike-rate of shade under 120.

“I didn’t have a good <g data-gr-id="56">season</g> but I am not thinking about it too much. I was <g data-gr-id="55">positive</g> but I don’t think there is any point in looking back at the season. It was a simple thing. I was out of form and now I have to practise hard to get back into form,” said Smith, who hit a couple of half-centuries in the recently concluded season of the cash-rich league. 

Asked if there was any specific reason for his failure in IPL this time, Smith said, “I don’t think there 

was any technical issues. It was a case of <g data-gr-id="49">lapse</g> of concentration which resulted in bad shot selections.  I am working hard on it and hopefully would do well during the upcoming Caribbean Premier League.” 

Smith will be playing for the Barbados Tridents in the CPL under <g data-gr-id="44">leadership</g> of Kieron Pollard alongside senior players like Shoaib Malik, Justin Ontong and Robin Peterson to name a few.

West Indies’ ODI captain Jason Holder will also be playing for the Tridents. About the Tridents’ chances in CPL, Smith sounded pretty excited.