The newly-appointed skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Faf du Plessis, has reflected upon his time as Chennai Super Kings, particularly playing under MS Dhoni, who stepped down as CSK’s captain two days before the start of IPL 2022.
Faf du Plessis was with CSK from 2011 to 2021, barring the two seasons when CSK was suspended he played for Rising Pune Supergiants also under Dhoni in 2016 and under Steve Smith in 2017. The South African was part of three of CSK’s four title wins; he was the second-highest run-scorer last season.
His association with CSK, though, came to an end this year as he was bought by RCB for 7 crore in the February mega-auction and has been appointed as their new captain, taking over from Virat Kohli.
A day after MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK’s captain, Faf du Plessis said that he felt really lucky to have played under Dhoni and learned so much having been under Graeme Smith at the national side. He also mentioned the CSK head coach, Stephen Fleming, to have had a positive impact on him.
Faf du Plessis said he is very lucky to have played under MS Dhoni.
“I have played under some very good leaders. Graeme Smith was one, he had some strong qualities as a leader that really stood out. And then when I moved to Chennai, I was very lucky to have played under MS Dhoni for a very long time. I got to see closely how his brain works, how things operate under him which was very fortunate for me. Also, Stephen Fleming. He had been a very good leader at the international level, now a well-established coach,” Faf du Plessis was quoted as saying by India Today.
The 37-year-old du Plessis, who himself was an admired and respected Protea skipper, asserted that he’s taken invaluable learnings and experiences while playing under different captains such as Graeme Smith, Dhoni, AB de Villiers, and added those to his thoughts.
“Every captain has his strengths. The icing for me has been over my time, I have been able to look at these leaders and identify their strengths and also find my own way. I think it’s really important that you are who you are and add those things that you have learned from others to your style of captaincy,” the RCB skipper added.
Faf du Plessis will lead RCB for the first time in their first game on Sunday, against Punjab Kings.
