India vs South Africa: Pretorius wants to inculcate Dhoni’s calmness and self-belief

The
South
African
made
his
IPL
debut
for
Chennai
Super
Kings
this
year
after
joining
the
franchise
for
a
base
price
of
Rs
50
lakh.
Pretorius
played
just
six
matches,
scoring
44
runs
and
claiming
six
wickets
with
best
bowling
figures
of
2
for
30.

The
limited
opportunities
notwithstanding,
Pretorius
said
playing
alongside
Dhoni
has
been
his
biggest
gain.
“Playing
my
first
IPL
was
a
great
experience.
It
was
one
of
my
bucket
list
items
and
that
too
to
get
the
opportunity
to
play
for
CSK,
one
of
the
most
successful
franchises.
I
enjoyed
every
moment
of
it.
You
get
a
lot
of
responsibility
as
a
player.

“I
really
enjoyed
playing
under
Dhoni
as
well
and
batting
with
him,
seeing
the
brand
value
he
has
in
India
just
shows
how
big
he
is
and
what
he
has
done
for
the
sport
in
this
country.
It
was
awesome
being
a
part
of
that,”
the
33-year-old
said.

“The
biggest
thing
that
I
have
learnt
from
him
is
how
calm
he
is
at
the
crease,
the
way
he
takes
the
pressure
off
himself
and
tries
to
put
it
on
to
the
bowler.
He
made
me
realise
that
at
the
death
it’s
actually
the
bowlers
who
are
under
pressure.
It
was
a
fresh
mindset
and
also
he
doesn’t
get
too
excited
and
is
always
optimistic.

“He
believes
he
can
do
anything
and
I
am
going
to
try
to
bring
his
calmness
and
self-belief
into
my
game,”
Pretorius
added.

Asked
about
the
series
against
India,
Pretorius
said
it
is
a
great
opportunity
for
some
South
African
players
to
cement
their
places
in
the
national
team
ahead
of
the
ICC
Men’s
T20
World
Cup
in
Australia.
It
would
also
be
great
to
know
(the
strengths
and
weakness)
of
the
Indian
team
going
into
the
World
Cup.

“A
strong
performance
in
this
series
is
key
for
players
keeping
the
T20
World
Cup
in
mind.
India
is
a
strong
T20
side
and
if
we
do
well
in
this
series,
we
can
consider
ourselves
as
strong
contender,”
he
said.

“Performances
in
this
series
is
going
to
go
far
to
secure
a
spot
in
the
World
Cup.
Pretorius
is
targeting
the
series
to
establish
himself
as
one
of
the
best
all-rounders
in
world
cricket.
You
test
yourself
as
a
player
against
some
of
the
best
T20
players
of
the
world.

“Personally,
I
want
to
push
myself
and
make
a
good
impact
for
the
team.
From
a
personal
note,
I
want
to
win
the
series
going
into
the
World
Cup.
I
want
to
establish
myself
as
a
leading
T20
all-rounder
in
this
series
going
into
the
T20
World
Cup,”
he
said.

The
ICC
T20
World
Cup
will
be
hosted
by
Australia
from
October
16
to
November
13.
The
five-match
T20
series
between
India
and
South
Africa
starts
here
on
Thursday,
followed
by
matches
in
Cuttack
(June
12),
Visakhapatnam
(June
14),
Rajkot
(June
17)
and
Bengaluru
(June
19).