Marcus Stoinis has played the role of a finisher for Australia on many occasions and also in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he has represented Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Stoinis received special advice from none other than MS Dhoni during IPL 2021 and opined that the former India captain’s finishing style influences not just the opposition but also the whole crowd. Speaking to journalist Borja Majumdar on YouTube, Stoinis recalled Dhoni’s advice after DC’s IPL 2021 Qualifier 1 vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Dhoni had played a knock of 18 runs off six balls to help CSK defeat DC.
“Last year, I spoke to multiple different players that bat in that role, whether it’s Hardik Pandya, you know, you understand that you’ve got to see those situations as an opportunity to win the game. I spoke to Dhoni a lot about it after one of our games where he actually beat Delhi [Capitals] nearly singlehandedly in one of the semi-finals”, he said.
“He spoke to me about the routine he goes through. How he sees the game, how he controls his breath, how he manages his emotions.”
Stoinis also revealed that Dhoni had said that it is important for a finisher to build a relationship with the team that “if you get out”, someone else can don the role in the batting order.
“He just sort of said to me, ‘The way you got to approach it is looking to be there at the end and take responsibility. There are different ways to do it [including] trying to score the runs early and finish the game in the 18th over.'”
“But the risk that he feels [in that method] is that you leave it to someone else if you get out. And he said that you build that relationship with your team and the people batting around you”.
