On expected lines, Faf Du Plessis has been appointed as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the upcoming IPL 2022, the 15th edition of the tournament, RCB announced this news in a grand event in Bangalore on Saturday.
Du Plessis takes over the captaincy duties from Virat Kohli, who relinquished his captaincy post last year ending a 9-year tenure at the helm. This is the first time du Plessis is given the full-time captaincy in the IPL.
The franchise uploaded a message from Virat Kohli, who is currently in Bangalore playing the Test versus Sri Lanka, congratulating his “good friend” on his new role.
“I couldn’t be happier to pass on the baton to a good friend, someone I’ve known over the years,” Kohli said in a recorded video.
“We’ve been in touch for many years now. He’s one of the few guys I’ve gotten to know a little bit more apart from the cricket. My partnership with Faf is going to be exciting. The squad we’ve put together is amazing. Our team looks balanced and strong, and I can’t wait to get started.”
The former South African skipper was bought by RCB in the IPL 2022 mega-auction for 7 crore, staving off the competition from the Chennai Super Kings who wanted to have Faf back but were outbid by RCB.
Glenn Maxwell, who was retained, and Dinesh Karthik, who was purchased for 5.5 crore, were also in contention for the captaincy position, but the franchise decided to put their trust in the South African. RCB are yet to win a single title and have thrice reached the final but faltered at the final hurdle.
New Season. New Captain. New Era. ?
It’s time to back our new leader who is going to take this team into #IPL2022 with the same #PlayBold philosophy and #ChallengerSpirit. ?
Drop a
to wish @faf1307 the best for this new role he’ll be taking up. #RCBUnbox #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/MUQmgmTMhh
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 12, 2022
to wish Du Plessis, who was the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2021 helping CSK to the title, was present at the event. He thanked the franchise for handing him the leadership and lauded them for trusting an overseas player for this role.
“Coming in as an outsider, I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity. It’s no small thing to trust an outsider, an overseas player to do the job as a leader. My style in doing that is not going to be ‘my way’. I will rely heavily on amazing experience of our domestic and international players,” Faf said.
“Having been a leader for a while, I’ve been on the journey for creating a culture, it’s close to my heart. First and foremost, my style will be a relational style. To connect with players and start to get to know everyone. The first part of my journey would be to build relationships, try and make sure what are the small things that make each individual tick and how to get the best out of them.”
Fans have been kept waiting for a long while by the franchise for this announcement which was almost predictable and unsurprising. Just like with any other event, social media was flooded with amazing Tweets.
Here are the 10 best tweets after Faf du Plessis was appointed as RCB’s new captain:
RCB team with their new captain pic.twitter.com/ikAwwTFBko
— Neeche Se Topper (@NeecheSeTopper) March 12, 2022
Scenes when they dial Faf du Plessis’s number to ask him to get on stage and Whistle Podu anthem starts ringing on somebody’s phone.
— Heisenberg
(@internetumpire) Yuzi Chahal watching the RCB live stream. He left RCB, but the RCB spirit in him hasn’t left yet
— Ankush Banerjee (@ankush_ban18) March 12, 2022
From Rahul dravid, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori and Virat Kohli to Faf du Plessis as the Captain of RCB.
Just How fast the night changes! pic.twitter.com/qBbrnpEnRp— Pari (@BluntIndianGal) March 12, 2022
Faf Du Plessis – the new RCB captain. pic.twitter.com/FUBdDDSY6L
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 12, 2022
Faf du Plessis named as RCB’s new captain.
Two minute silence for all Kohli fans who wanted Kohli as RCB’s captain.
— Troll Kohli (@ChokerKohli) March 12, 2022
Its none other than @faf1307, many many congratulations faf , all the very best for the season . #RCBUnbox pic.twitter.com/1lhRu9DhOo
— Anuj (@Anuj88072637) March 12, 2022
Faf du Plessis – RCB’s New Captain ?#IPL2022 #CricketTwitter #FAFduPlessis #RCB pic.twitter.com/tfkr1iUKa6
— Unnati Madan (@unnati_madan) March 12, 2022
Also Read: CSK Wrote A Special Message For RCB’s New Captain Faf du Plessis
