[In Pictures] Faf du Plessis catches up with former teammates MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo ahead of IPL 2022
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have shared endearing images of Faf du Plessis interacting with MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo during a practice session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Du Plessis, who will be leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season, was part of CSK’s IPL 2021-winning squad, which was led by Dhoni.
Sharing the pictures, CSK wrote on their official Twitter handle:
“Catch ups that make us go laa la laa! #WhistlePodu #Yellove”
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🦁 vamsam! Catch ups that make us go laa la laa 🎶!
#WhistlePodu #Yellove 💛 https://t.co/s57oocxCob
The former South African captain had a tremendous season for Chennai last year, smashing 633 runs in 16 matches at an average of 45.21 and a strike rate of 138.20. In fact, he was the Player of the Final for his stunning 86 off 59 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The veteran Proteas batter was the second-leading run-getter in the edition after his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad (635 runs).
While CSK retained Dhoni, Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja, they went for all-rounder Moeen Ali as their overseas retention ahead of Du Plessis. The South African was subsequently purchased by RCB at the mega auction for ₹7 crore. He was later named captain of the franchise, replacing Virat Kohli, who stepped down from the post after IPL 2021.
“Got to see very closely how his brain works” - Faf du Plessis on playing under Dhoni
On Thursday, an era came to an end in the IPL when CSK announced that Dhoni had decided to hand over the leadership of the franchise to Jadeja. Dhoni had been at the helm of Chennai since the start of the IPL.
Sharing his experience of playing under Dhoni at CSK, Du Plessis said in an interview on IPL's official website:
“Moving out to Chennai, I was lucky enough to play under MS Dhoni for an extremely long time. I got to see very closely how his brain works, how things operate under him, which was very fortunate for me.”
The 37-year-old also praised former New Zealand captain and CSK head coach Stephen Fleming. He said the following about the Kiwi legend:
“Also Stephen Fleming, who has been a really good leader in the international cricket and is also a well-established coach now. I also played under AB de Villiers who was captain of South Africa for a while. Every captain has their own strengths, and the icing was for me to look at these leaders and see their strengths and also find my own ways to be different.”
The new RCB skipper has played 100 matches in the IPL and has 2935 runs to his name at an average of 34.94 and a strike rate of 131.08.