NEW DELHI: Rising Pune Supergiant’s newly-appointed skipper Steven Smith might be taking over the reins from India’s most successful skipper MS Dhoni, but then Smith makes no bones about the fact that he wants to lead this team in his own style.
Speaking ahead of the start of season 10, Smith said that while he is open to observations from the experienced campaigners in the team, he doesn’t want to clog his mind with too many opinions.
“I have plenty of guys to talk to, but I will not seek too many opinions. Seeking too many opinions can cloud your own judgment. I want to try and stay as clear as possible. But yes, if someone sees something and feels the need to point it out to me, they are more than welcome,” he said.
Asked if Smith had a word with Dhoni after the change in captains going into the auction ahead of this season of IPL, the Australia skipper said: “We have shared a few messages and MS has been very supportive and there are no issues there. I don’t think our professional relation will have any effect post the change of captaincy.”
“It is great to have so many leaders in the team from around the world and I believe it will make my job easier. There should be no hindrance,” he said.
Smith also said that it feels good to be back in the IPL after playing the high-intensity Test series.
“Great to be back and lead Pune. It is a privilege to lead these set of boys. I am really excited and it is a good squad so hopefully we will do well this year,” he said.
Smith also feels that IPL is a big platform and says that the cash-rich league is a big exposure platform for the youngsters.
“IPL has been very beneficial not just to me, but also to a lot of young international stars. The honour of sharing the dressing room with the experienced international stars and also to learn about the game from them. It gets me really excited,” he said.
Asked to compare team-mate Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Smith said: “They are very different people and I have already spoken about it. Ajinkya Rahane is very calm and cool while Virat Kohli likes to show emotions and is aggressive by nature. That is all I will give you.”
Smith also refused to get back into the reason behind him apologising to the Indians at the end of the fourth Test.“It is done and dusted and let us leave all that behind. Let us think about the IPL, don’t want to talk about why I apologised after the Dharamsala Test,” he signed off.