'He believes he can....': CSK star Dwaine Pretorius eager to emulate MS Dhoni's calmness & self-belief

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) entered IPL 2022 as the defending champions and expectations were once again riding high on the four-time champions. However, the Yellow Army fell flat and finished at the ninth-place in what was a forgettable campaign for them.

There were, however, some positives for the Chennai franchise with some players raising their hands and performing well. South Africa's Dwaine Pretorius may not have played every game but the all-rounder did make a mark with some good performances and recently spilled the beans on his journey with the CSK camp. 

Speaking at the press conference ahead of the upcoming India-South Africa T20Is, which starts on June 09, Pretorius dwelled on the learnings from CSK skipper MS Dhoni. He revealed, "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 realise that at the death, the batter isn't under more pressure, it's actually the bowler that is under more pressure."

"As a bowler, you can still lose the match if you have to defend 18 off the last three balls and as a batter you can win it. It was a fresh mindset. He doesn't get too excited. He doesn't get too down on himself. Anything is always possible and I love that about him. He is very optimistic. He believes he can do anything. I am going to try and bring that into my game: the calmness but also that self-belief that from any position, any game can be won," Pretorius added.

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Speaking on CSK's disastrous run, where they failed to enter the playoffs for the second time in their rich history, Pretorius stated, "What was nice about the CSK franchise is that it is very experienced. We all understand that cricket doesn't always go your way. It's very important to just take the positives out of a bad season and try and build for a stronger future. It's all about building for the next year or three years and trying to make sure a bad season is not a complete loss."

Pretorius ended with six scalps from equal number of games, bowling in the powerplays and death overs, and also led the charge with the bat with a handy 28 in CSK's three-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI), at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, in match 33 of IPL 2022.

He is currently part of South Africa's T20I squad for the five-match series versus hosts India.