MS Dhoni was completely opposite of what I thought captaincy would have looked like: Faf du Plessis

Faf Du Plessis recalled his initial days at his former side Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after he was on Saturday appointed as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Du Plessis, who has never led an IPL team in the past, will be replacing Virat Kohli as RCB’s new captain in IPL 2022.

Du Plessis might not have led an IPL team but is one of the most experienced cricketers in the league and has won the title twice as a player with CSK. He has also led South Africa in the past and has significant experience as a leader in international cricket. Du Plessis spent nine seasons with CSK where he played under the legendary MS Dhoni.

Du Plessis admitted he has a quite similar captaincy style to Dhoni, who is known for his ability to stay calm under pressure. However, the former CSK batter said when he first arrived at the franchise he found Dhoni’s style of leading the side complete opposite of what he had thought captaincy would look like.

“The crazy thing is, when I started over in Chennai, I had this idea of what captaincy looks like. And MS was the complete opposite of what I thought it would have looked like! Because my culture was South African, right? So I came to this environment and I was like, ‘this guy was completely different than I thought what it should be!’” Faf said in an interview for RCB.

Also Read: Hesson explains why RCB picked Du Plessis over Maxwell and Karthik to lead the side in IPL 2022

Du Plessis, who played an instrumental role in CSK’s fourth IPL title triumph last year with a staggering 633 runs in the season, said he has been privileged to have played under Dhoni and learnt from one of the best captains around. The former South Africa skipper said he would like to utilise his experience and learnings but not try to be like Dhoni or Kohli.

“What it taught me was that there were different styles, but it is important that you need to be (have) your own style. Because that’s the thing that always comes through when the pressure is on,” said the RCB captain.

“So, I can’t try to be Virat Kohli because I’m not Virat Kohli. I can’t try to be MS Dhoni. But there are things I’ve learned that helped me grow my leadership style and mature. So, I’m grateful for that journey,” he added.