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'I feel I'm similar to Dhoni, Fleming in that respect': New Zealand star makes huge statement on captaincy
The New Zealand star made a huge remark on his captaincy, as he drew parallels with MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming.
India will meet New Zealand in the first T20I of the three-match series later tonight in Ranchi. While Hardik Pandya leads the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Santner will be leading the Kiwis as both – Kane Williamson and Tim Southee – have been rested ahead of the Tests against England. New Zealand had faced a 0-3 clean sweep defeat in the ODI series and will be aiming to make a strong comeback in the shortest format of the game.
Ahead of the game, Santner, who has captained the Kiwis in 10 T20Is so far, stated that he's drawing inspiration from MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming in his leadership; he has worked with the duo at the Chennai Super Kings in the India Premier League. Santner said that he finds some similarities with the star duo in that he also likes to remain ‘level-headed and calm’ on the field.
"Yeah, I guess that [being cool] is my nature, and it has been like that for a little while now," Santner told ESPNCricinfo on the eve of the first T20I in Ranchi.
"But there's also nerves and [it's] very exciting to captain another series in India - it doesn't get much better than that. So, definitely looking forward to it.
“If you look at both of them [MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming], they're very calm and very level-headed, which I like. So, I feel like I'm similar [to them] in that respect and working alongside MS has been a pretty cool experience for a few years now. I guess it's nice to be back at his home ground [in Ranchi] as well. And Flem, he's the same, very level-headed and keeps it very relaxed and that's what we try to do in this [New Zealand] set-up as well,” said Santner.
Ahead of the first T20I in Ranchi, Dhoni also paid a visit to the Indian players in the dressing room. The former India wicketkeeper-batter will return to action in the Indian Premier League later this year.
