NEW DELHI: South African allrounder Dwaine Pretorius believes playing alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings has given him a "fresh mindset" towards the sport.
Pretorius combined with Dhoni at the crease four times this IPL season and now wants to inculcate the "calmness and self-belief" of the Indian superstar in his game.
"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, it was awesome being a part," the 33-year-old said on Monday.
"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 onto 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, going forward, I am going to try to bring his calmness and self-belief into my game," Pretorius added.
From the India-South Africa T20I series, Pretorius wants to cement his place in the Proteas side ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
