On Tuesday, Faf du Plessis turned 37 years old. He plays for South Africa and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL. He is not only loved and praised by South Africans, but many Indian fans also pour love over him. He entered CSK in the year 2011 as a spinner but now he is famous for his stunning batting. He is one of the main batsmen of the team.
He shares quite a strong bond with former India team captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni. During the IPL days, both are seen together on and off the field. As a team member, Dhoni trusts Faf.
During the latest season of the Indian Premier League, Faf du Plessis said that it is an absolute honor to play under the former Indian skipper (MS Dhoni) in the IPL. He said, “Been very lucky playing under MS for a long time. He knows what he is doing, a pleasure to play under him.”
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While telling about the bond between MS and Faf du Plessis CSK youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad said, “Their bond is very good because they both respect each other a lot. Often, they have discussions after the match where Faf reaches out to MS Dhoni with suggestions. Even at this stage (of their careers), they have very good discussions.” He added, “And it's not like they discuss for 5-10 minutes, their talks go on for an hour or even two hours sometimes. They also have discussions every day in practice. A lot of times, even Mahi Bhai reaches out to Faf during the match to ask for his advice.”
Faf du Plessis is one of the finest batsmen South Africa has produced. He is not just the best, he is the finest cricketer of his era. Here are some of his top performances in international cricket and IPL.
International Cricket:
- 110* vs Australia, November 2012 (Faf made a debut in Test cricket and scored his first Test century).
- 134 vs India in Johannesburg, December 2013 (Du Plessis stitched a 205-runs partnership with his school friend AB de Villiers, in 305 balls in six hours and 35 minutes).
- 118* vs Australia, November 2016 (Du Plessis considers his 118* against Australia best among his centuries in Test cricket)
- 199 vs Sri Lanka, December 2020 (It was his finest effort, but he fell short of a double-century by one run).
IPL Tournament:
- 73 (52) vs Rajasthan Royals, 2012
- 71 (46) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2012
- 69 (43) vs Gujarat Lions, 2016
- 67 (42) vs Sunrises Hyderabad, 2018
- 96 (55) vs Kings XI Punjab, 2019