Faf du Plessis compared the captaincy styles of Sarfaraz Ahmed, MS Dhoni, and the current India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli.
It wasn’t too long ago that Faf du Plessis was on a run-scoring spree for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021. With 320 runs from seven matches, he had peeled off four consecutive half-centuries for CSK before the tournament came to halt. Now, as he gets ready to play in the Pakistan Super League, his team Quetta Gladiators would be hoping the former South Africa captain to bat in the same groove as he did in the IPL.
Faf du Plessis Always Enjoyed Playing Under Different Leaders
From playing under MS Dhoni in the IPL, Faf du Plessis will now be playing in the leadership of former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Ahead of the resumption of the sixth season of the PSL from June 9, the opener sat down for an interview with Cricket Pakistan where he compared the captaincy styles of Sarfaraz Ahmed, MS Dhoni, and current India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli.
“Quite different… MS is quiet and reserved, does most of his things instinctively on the field. Sarfaraz is the opposite… almost like Virat. Always talking to the players, always to the bowlers, always very passionate about how he captains his team, and he shows it. So, there is no right and wrong way. These are just two different styles,” du Plessis said.
The Quetta Gladiators had a tough time in PSL 2021 before the tournament was suspended over bio-bubble breaches, with four losses in five matches. The Quetta Gladiators began PSL 2021 with a seven-wicket defeat to the Karachi Kings. They subsequently also lost to the Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, and Islamabad United before opening their account with a win over the Multan Sultans.
Faf du Plessis Pretty Passionate About Leadership Himself
Faf du Plessis had a reasonable record as the captain himself. He led South Africa in 36 Tests, winning 18 and losing 15. In the 76 matches (T20Is and ODIs combined) under Faf du Plessis, South Africa won 51 and lost 23 games. At Quetta Gladiators, even though Sarfaraz Ahmed will be leading the team, Faf du Plessis is more than happy to give his inputs if and when needed.
“He’s obviously been captain of Pakistan and has got the best out of players. I’ve always enjoyed playing under different leaders just to see how they go about their business because I also am pretty passionate about leadership myself so it’s nice for me to be able to see how he does things and offer my inputs if he wants to take it,” added du Plessis.
Faf du Plessis continued from where he left in the UAE in 2020 scoring 320 runs in 7 matches at a strike rate of 145.45 including 4 fifties. He had scored 449 runs averaging 40.81 in 13 games and was the top run-getter for CSK in their otherwise dismal season where they failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time in the IPL history.
Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis, with 13 sixes each, have cleared the ropes on most occasions for CSK in IPL 2021. They are closely followed by Moeen Ali, who has hit 12 maximums thus far. This is in sharp contrast to IPL 2020 where the 14 sixes hit by Faf du Plessis, the most by a CSK batsman, came in almost double the matches.
South African star Faf du Plessis would be up in the second session of the sixth edition of the PSL. The resumed session of PSL 2021 would be taking place in Abu Dhabi instead of Pakistan due to the COVID-19 situation.