IPL 2023: Dhoni is of the perfect tacticians and a formidable captain, says Faf du Plessis

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes Mahendra Singh Dhoni, amongst others, helped him mature as a pacesetter, including that the previous India skipper is tactically top-of-the-line within the enterprise.

Du Plessis had two lengthy stints with IPL aspect Chennai Super Kings – 2011-2015 and 2018-2021 – earlier than he moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore as captain final season.

Du Plessis stated when he realised he was not going to be a pacesetter like former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith or Dhoni, he determined to simply be himself.

“I think what was really good for me to go through (during his career) was the conviction that I am not going to be Graeme Smith as a captain, I’m not going to be Stephen Fleming as a captain, I’m not going to be MS Dhoni as a captain

“In order for me to be true to who I am as a person, I need to be me. Because if you’re not being you, then people will see through it, maybe not when you’re doing well but definitely when you are under pressure, or under-performing, the real you will reveal itself,” du Plessis stated in a RCB podcast.

Du Plessis stated throughout his debut season with CSK, he used to spend so much of time with former New Zealand captain and Chennai group chief coach Fleming, simply selecting his brains on captaincy and attempting to imbibe the nuances of management.

“I always had this leadership perspective of learning from great leaders, it (leadership) was always something that I was fascinated about. When I initially came into the South African team, Graeme Smith was the captain. I was like, Wow, this guy’s got an amazing presence when he speaks – like this big, blinding roar at you, and he just dominated the room while speaking. So I was like, that’s a leader, right?,” he stated.

“I got an opportunity to go to Chennai (CSK) aT a young phase in my career. Stephen Fleming is one of the great leaders within the game, obviously, for New Zealand cricket also. The different aspect was him being a man manager, a guy who just works on relationships.

“And I go, Wow, that’s impressive. During my first season at CSK, I was sitting next to him (Fleming) and just asked him questions about captaincy and leadership, just to learn as much as I can. And then you put MS (Dhoni) on top of that, and you go, Wow, this guy’s (Dhoni) tactically odd to read the game like this. And you go, Okay, he is impressive as a captain,” he added.

The South African nice stated being criticised “unfairly” for shining the ball within the second Test in opposition to Australia at Hobart through the 2016 collection had made him extra decided to provide it again to the house aspect. South Africa had gained the second Test by an innings and 80 runs.

Du Plessis, who was main the aspect, reportedly utilized saliva to the ball with a lolly in his mouth. Though he was fined 100 per cent of his match price, he was cleared to play the subsequent Test at Adelaide.

“I used to be very unfairly criticised for shining that ball and the media completely ripped into me; they labelled me as a cheat and attacked my character. Before the third Test each newspaper was like ‘Faf du Plessis (is a) cheat.

“It was just bad and I walked out to bat at Adelaide (for the first pink ball third Test) and there were 50,000 boos… as loud as it can get.” Du Plessis said the episode brought out the fighter in him and he scored a century in the first innings. South Africa, though, went on to lose the match by seven wickets despite his 118.

“I was like this is what I was born for (to fight). This is the fighter in me and then you get a 100 in the Test match. Even when I was on 50, everyone booed me. Even when I went on 100, half the stadium clapped, while the other half still booed (me). It let a flame inside of me, ‘you cannot get me out today because of what’s taking place on the market’,” stated du Plessis.

Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com

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