New Zealand cricketer Mitchell Santner is one of the few lucky players who have played under two great captains of the modern era - MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson. Santner plays under the leadership of Williamson in the New Zealand cricket team, while Dhoni has been his captain in the IPL side Chennai Super Kings.
Notably, MS Dhoni and Kane Williamson have achieved a lot in international cricket as skippers. Former Indian skipper Dhoni led the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup win in 2007, ODI World Cup win in 2011, and Champions Trophy win in 2013. The wicketkeeper-batter has also led CSK to 4 IPL titles victories.
On the other hand, Kane Williamson led New Zealand to the maiden ICC title by winning the inaugural World Test Championship against India. Williamson has also led the Black Caps to the finals of the ODI World Cup in 2019 and T20 World Cup in 2021.
While there are many similarities between Dhoni and Williamson, Santner highlights the major difference between the two skippers.
As per Santner, Dhoni relies a lot on his mid-game instincts, but Williamson likes to plan every little detail in advance and be prepared for all eventualities.
“Dhoni is a very instinctive captain. He has captained in a lot of games. He has been in tricky situations a lot. He just has the knack of knowing what will happen in the game. He will give you pretty good views from behind the stumps. It’s quite awesome to be involved with CSK for the last four years and to play under one of the greatest captains and players of our time.
“On the other hand, Kane is someone who does a lot of planning beforehand. He is very relaxed and calm. It helps you as a player when you are under the pump,” he said in an interview with the Indian Express.
Interestingly, Santner has been stand-in captain for New Zealand in three T20Is, most recently against India in Kolkata. The spinner revealed that he has learned a few captaincy traits by watching the likes of Brendon McCullum, Dhoni, and Willamson from close quarters.
“I have been lucky enough to play under Brendon, Kane and MS over the years. You note down stuff from your captains and try to implement it when you lead the team. If I manage to pick up a few stuffs from their rulebooks, I will do fine as a captain,” Santner said.
