Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis recently opened up about his experience of working with MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Proteas star spent nine seasons with the franchise and won three IPL titles during his time in Chennai before moving to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2022.
Speaking on the Prakhar Gupta Podcast, Du Plessis discussed the leadership qualities he observed while playing under Dhoni. The former CSK opener also explained how his time with the franchise influenced his own understanding of captaincy and decision-making on the field.
Faf du Plessis opens up about his time at CSK
Du Plessis, who has scored 4,773 runs in 154 IPL matches, enjoyed considerable success under Dhoni’s leadership. Reflecting on the former India captain’s approach, he highlighted his ability to trust his instincts rather than depend heavily on plans made before a match.
“This guy has an incredible understanding of the game on the field. He doesn’t like to plan too much beforehand and prefers to be instinctive during the match. That was his superpower,” Du Plessis said.
He added that Dhoni’s ability to read the game and understand players while remaining remarkably calm was something he admired. The former South Africa captain revealed that he wanted to take that approach into his own captaincy.
Du Plessis recalls reaching out to Steve Smith in 2018
In another conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Du Plessis recalled the ball-tampering controversy involving Australia during the 2018 Test series against South Africa in Cape Town. The incident reminded him of his own experiences and prompted him to send a message of support to Steve Smith during a difficult period.
“Steve came out at the end of the day (in Cape Town in 2018) saying: ‘I take responsibility.’ And we were like: ‘Why are you taking responsibility? You did nothing wrong,” Du Plessis recalled.
Smith had accepted responsibility for the incident, which involved Cameron Bancroft being caught attempting to alter the ball’s condition using sandpaper. Du Plessis said he empathised with the Australian batter and recalled questioning why Smith had taken responsibility in that manner.
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