Why Faf du Plessis deserves RCB captaincy
Faf du Plessis' arrival at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for this year's IPL for ₹7 crore is a bargain deal for the South Indian franchise. The former Chennai opener quit international cricket two years ago and has emerged as one of the top franchise cricketers in the world.
Bangalore remain the only IPL team this season that are yet to announce their captain. Virat Kohli confirmed that he will step down from the role before last year's T20 World Cup. Since then, the franchise are still deliberating over his replacement.
Thankfully for them, they can only fiddle with a couple of potential options, notably Dinesh Karthik and Faf du Plessis.
Karthik's stint as KKR captain was moderately successful given the way they operated with an inexperienced and limited squad in the 2018 IPL season. He managed to take them to the IPL playoffs that season, eventually losing to SRH in the Qualifier 2. However, his counterpart offers a vast wealth of experience in this category.
Had a wonderful session today with @faf1307 ahead of tomorrow's game. It's a privilege to have a legend of the game as teammate. ✊✊
#LKD16 #WinOrWin https://t.co/Xor31SdxnT
Faf du Plessis has an impressive track record
Faf du Plessis has one of the best records as a T20 captain of South Africa. In his first major assignment, he took the Proteas to the 2014 WT20 semi-finals in Bangladesh. They lost to India at that stage.
Overall, he captained his national team for a record 37 matches in which his team had a success rate of 63.51.
In franchise cricket, he took the less-fancied Paarl Rocks to a third-place finish in the inaugural Mzansi Super League season. They eventually lost out to Quinton de Kock's Cape Town outfit on net run rate. The following season, he took them to the title against all odds despite several of the Rocks' key players missing out.
Paarl Rocks Beat Tshwane Spartans & Won The Title Of Mzansi Super T20 League 2019 🏏 #MSLT20 https://t.co/XXbRd9NZ30
Last year in the Caribbean Premier League, he took the Saint Lucia Kings to the finals. His absence in the final cost the Kings the title as well as they went down Dwayne Bravo's Patriots.
Check out the updated IPL Captains here.
Faf du Plessis: A shrewd tactician
Faf du Plessis' consistency even at this age is simply astonishing. Last year in the IPL, he was the second-highest run-scorer for his team. He lost out on the Orange Cap by just two runs to his former teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 635. He was also one of the top run-getters for the Comilla Victorians in their triumphant run in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League.
Apart from his remarkable consistency, du Plessis comes across as a shrewd tactician. His intricate man-management skills have often come to the fore in challenging situations.
The way he guided a depleted South African Test team to a remarkable series win in Australia back in 2016 is still fresh in everyone's minds. His ability to manouvre local South African talents in both editions of the MSL was something of the highest caliber.
Faf du Plessis' calm demeanor is exactly what Bangalore needs after a decade of playing a fiery brand of cricket under Kohli. His vast knowledge of franchise captaincy, coupled with his astute decision-making, can take RCB all the way.