IPL 2022: RCB Skipper Du Plessis, The Marvel For His New Franchise

When Faf du Plessis was appointed as the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, he had big responsibility on his shoulders to bring new culture, style and more importantly more success to the franchise, and the South African has led from the front in making RCB a title contender in the ongoing IPL 2022.

Ahead of the beginning of the season, RCB made a big move in bringing du Plessis in to replace Virat Kohli as captain. The South African was bought by the RCB for Rs seven crore at the mega auction and was later appointed as the new skipper of the franchise.

Well, the management may have made the decision at the right juncture, but it took a bit of time for the team's fans to register and lock in their minds that the Proteas batter has taken over the reins. But with his impactful batting at the top and his decisive leadership skills, the veteran cricketer has already won the hearts of RCB fans and the trust of the management.

RCB have won five matches out of the seven that they have played this season and are at the second spot on the table with 10 points.

Under Kohli's leadership, RCB were one of the most popular teams in the IPL. They had star-studded playing line-up over the years and most of them used to win matches for RCB with their individual brilliance, but somehow they have failed to win a title for them.

Now, the beauty of the team currently led by du Plessis is that they are now not dependent on one or two individuals for their win and the team is playing like a collective unit. Yes, there are stars like Kohli and Maxwell in the RCB, but it's the lesser-known players, who have punched above their weight and du Plessis has played a vital role in getting the best out of them.

Often, it's said that a leader is as good as his team, but in cricket a good captain is the main decision maker and should know how to optimise his resources. The likes of Rohit Sharma (5 titles), MS Dhoni (4 titles) and Gautam Gambhir (2 titles) have already proved that with their leadership skills in the past.

Du plessis -- The Captain

There are a few important qualities -- like commanding respect, skills to get the best out of every individual, positive communication skills, strategic intelligence and taking accountability -- which are often seen by the experts or pundits of the game to judge a captain and Faf has almost ticked all these boxes quite well so far.

Whether it's his batting at the top-order and scoring bulk of runs for RCB, rotating his bowlers well, holding his nerves under tense situations, Faf has led from the front for the franchise this season, and deservingly has earned the respect from his team-mates.

RCB have always been a batting-heavy side but it's often the bowling which has let them down over the years. But the situation has changed this season and Faf has used the likes of Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj cleverly to restrict the opposition batters.

For example, Siraj who is clearly not having his best IPL season, is being used in the powerplay and middle overs, while in-form Harshal and Hazlewood have been given the task of bowling the crucial death overs. The RCB skipper has also used Hasaranga at different stages of the games, keeping in mind the opposition batters.

Also Read: IPL 2022 - Scorecard

Other spinners -- Shahbaz and Maxwell -- have also chipped in with impactful performances during middle overs with the ball for RCB.