David Willey explains how MS Dhoni influenced his career during IPL 2018

England pacer David Willey almost put his Yorkshire contract on the line to play the Indian Premier League (IPL). When Chennai Super Kings lost all-rounder Kedar Jadhav to an injury they were looking for a reinforcement and Willey appeared to be the best option. For the fast-bowler however, it wasn’t as straightforward a call since his county Yorkshire wasn’t as cooperative.

He got to play only three matches for the Super Kings who emerged as an extremely balanced, well composed and a side for all occasions. Willey was eventually a part of the IPL champion side and got a lot of experience there which will help him in all the cricket he plays now on.

At CSK he also got to play under the charismatic leadership of MS Dhoni who has had a calming effect on everyone who has played around and under him in any form and level of cricket. Willey said that it was not just with the games he played but even watching guys like Dhoni who has so much experience and has a superlative cricketing brain that he learned new things.

Dhoni’s influence

“I learnt just as much from watching guys like him as I did from the few games I played in,” Willey was quoted as saying on Cricbuzz.

“How calm he is and how he thinks about the game when he is batting was great to learn from. Things like that are invaluable when you are learning about the game,” he added.

Talking about the counties and how they should adapt to the changing dynamics of the game the 28-year-old said, “I think the landscape of the modern game is changing and I do think that counties should try and work with it rather than work against it and look at the longer term picture.”

“Ultimately, you would think that their counties will benefit from it whether it be immediately that summer when they come back and contribute to winning games or whether they go on and help develop youngsters down the line,” he stated.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.