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Cricket Players'Dhoni trusted me to win games when I was 22. That was massive': South Africa star recalls playing under CSK skipper
The former South Africa cricketer spoke in detail about playing under MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings.
South African pacer Lungi Ngidi saw his career shoot into the limelight when he participated in the Chennai Super Kings' triumphant IPL 2018 season. He credits that opportunity as the thing which made him comfortable bowling in high-pressure situations and in front of tens of thousands of fans in the biggest stadiums in the world, particularly thanks to the guidance of the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In an interview with The Guardian, Ngidi opened up on the role of Dhoni early in his career.
"Having someone of Dhoni’s calibre put his trust in me to win him games when I was 22 was massive for me." Ngidi was picked up for 50 lakhs as a youngster by CSK ahead of the 2018 season, and played 7 matches for the team in yellow, taking 11 wickets as they won the trophy on their return to the IPL after two years of suspension.
"The IPL also taught me how to handle a big crowd," continued Ngidi. "I’d never played in front of 60,000 people and that was a bit overwhelming at the start. But once you get going it’s a breeze."
Ngidi had earned his call-up to the national team in the months leading up to that edition of the IPL, but has since seen his career go up and down with the emergence of bowlers such as Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen. However, he was impressive in the latter half of the T20I series against India in 2022 when he was called upon to take Kagiso Rabada's place.
Ngidi was picked up by the Delhi Capitals for the 2022 IPL season, but did not play a match, being one of the three overseas seamers competing for one spot, with Nortje and Mustafizur Rahman.
On playing under Rishabh Pant at Delhi, who succeeded Dhoni as wicketkeeper for India cricket, Ngidi said, "Even this year, in Delhi, Rishabh Pant has been so good. He’s young but he already has so much influence within the game and being able to bowl to him in the nets and run ideas past him helps you grow as a cricketer."
Ngidi has impressive statistics in both T20 and Test cricket, but is still trying to find his way back to the top after a hamstring injury in 2019 interfered with his progress. It has taken him time to work on his rhythm and get back to the pace he is capable of, but a recall to the Proteas team indicates he's heading in the right direction. South Africa are currently in England, and will prepare to face off against them later this month in an all-format series, with Ngidi hoping to show that he is back to his best.
