IPL 2018 | Mitchell Santner excited to bowl to MS Dhoni in CSK nets
Mitchell Santner has stated that he is happy that he would bowl to Chennai Super Kingsā skipper MS Dhoni in the nets rather than in a match situation in the Indian Premier League. The Kiwi spinner has also added that he would use his last India tour experience while playing for the franchise.
Santner was picked up by the Chennai-based franchise for the upcoming edition of the IPL for an amount of Rs 50 lakh in the auction last month and will now work closely with MS Dhoni. This will be the first year that the 26-year-old, whoĀ was signed by English county Derbyshire for the T20 Blast and the second half of their Championship campaign, will be a part of the Indian Premier League. However, aware of Dhoniās ability to ruin bowlersā figures, Santner is relieved that he would be bowling at the wicket-keeper batsman only in the nets and not during a match.
āIām happy Iāll be bowling to (MS) Dhoni in the nets rather than in a matchĀ like I have been. Iām definitely looking forward to joining the culture at CSK, talking to and playing alongside experienced players such as skipper Dhoni, (Suresh) Raina and (Ravindra) Jadeja in a great team environment,ā Santner was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
āIām very excited to be a part of this yearās IPL and looking forward to joining the Chennai family. The IPL is probably the biggest T20 competition in the world, so I am excited to showcase my skills on the big stage and ultimately help CSK win games and ideally the championship,ā he said.
Santner has been one of New Zealandās leading tweakers last year and known for his miserly spells. HeĀ is enjoying a very good run of form since the last one year and was the top-ranked bowler in T20I rankings earlier this year as well. During his last twoĀ trips to India with the national team, he proved to be the teamās mainstay and now, he wants to draw inspiration and experience from the same when he will don theĀ yellow jersey for the CSK franchise.
āIāve been lucky enough to play in India in all three formats and have had some reasonable success along the way against some of the best players going around, so Iām looking to draw on some of that experience in the upcoming IPL,ā he said.
āI enjoy bowling in India because the conditions can benefit spinners on some slower wickets and playing in front of packed stadiums, full of fans is also something you donāt get back home,ā he said.
The upcoming edition of the cash-rich league kicks off on April 7 with CSK taking on defending champions Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in their own den in Mumbai.Ā