IPL 2017: RPS owner praises Smith, hails Dhoni as 'one of the greatest minds'

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Bengaluru, May 21: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) owner Sanjiv Goenka was in all praises for captain Steve Smith and also hailed former skipper MS Dhoni as 'one of the greatest minds'.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the Kolkata-based business tycoon spoke in detail about his team who have reached their maiden final of IPL.

On MS Dhoni, Goenka opined: "MS is one of the greatest minds I have interacted with. And he is the best wicket-keeper in the world."

MS Dhoni who had led the team last season failed to deliver as the team finished second from the bottom in the points table.

The failure in their debut season forced the top brass of the side to make a major overhaul of the squad and appoint Steve Smith as the new skipper.

On Steve Smith's approach to a game and captaincy, the owner said: "My brief to Smith was: win the championship.

"It's difficult to believe the way he has planned some dismissals, the tact and the firmness with which he has dealt with tricky situations and the win-or-nothing attitude he has been able to infuse into the team, get them to gel as a unit.

"And he's gone out in the strategic timeouts to tell batsmen to either score 30 of the next 12 balls or get out. If we had a bad start, it was because Smith was out with food poisoning."

Earlier during the beginning of the tournament, Sanjiv's brother Harsh Goenka ignited a controversy for criticising MS Dhoni on Twitter. He took unnecessary and indirect digs at the former skipper.

RPS take on MI in the final of IPL 2017 in Hyderabad tonight (May 21).

OneIndia News