IPL 2022 Auction: 3 reasons why Faf du Plessis is a good choice to lead RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will announce a new skipper (or drop a surprise by convincing former captain Virat Kohli to take the reins back) in IPL 2022.
What they do have are two more options for donning the captain's cap in Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik, who they acquired during the IPL 2022 Auction. Glenn Maxwell is an outside bet for the role.
Rumors and speculations are rife that the former South Africa skipper and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star is the one who will lead the side and isn't a bad call to make.
Earlier, the franchise took to social media to release a mock auction video that showed them bid for Faf du Plessis and was a mild hint that he would be looked at as one of the choices to lead the side this season.
“With the options we have in our current squad and the uncertainty surrounding those, and the options we have at the auction, where we think we can gain a real advantage is with Faf du Plessis who is highly experienced. He has captained South Africa for long, won the IPL many times and is a very consistent performer in terms of how he operates. He's a strong character and highly respected. These are a lot of attributes you want in a leader,” Hesson opined.
Ahead of the marquee tournament, we look at three reasons why du Plessis is a good choice to lead RCB.
#1 RCB will have an experienced skipper
Faf du Plessis led the Proteas in in 36 Tests, 39 ODIs and 40 T20Is, of which South Africa won 18, 28 and 25, respectively. That's a 62.5% win career. He's 11th on the all-time list of skippers who have won the most T20Is.
Combine this with his experience in the IPL and being part of a crack unit led by MS Dhoni, there's a certain thing or two he knows about being part of a team that's gunning for success.
#2 Fresh face and voice in the dressing room
With Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the dressing room last season, Kohli had two other veterans providing valuable advice not just to him, but also to the young guns in the side.
Du Plessis, known to be direct and unabashedly honest with his inputs and for his inspired leadership over the years as SA skipper, can bring some freshness into the dressing room. A couple of RCB players this season have already felt he could be a potential option and RCB will assuredly have a tough and tactical skipper if they go for him.
#3 Has the numbers with the willow
Faf du Plessis was incredible with the bat in CSK's title-winning run, scoring 633 runs from 16 matches, including six fifties, the most in his IPL career so far. His IPL career has seen him stack up 2935 runs from 100 innings at a strike rate of 131.09.
These are some strong numbers for a player who comes from a generation stacking up big runs in Tests and ODIs — another good reason that works for RCB if they make him captain.