- “That’s something I want to take away from him” – Faf du Plessis reveals MS Dhoni’s superpower Former South Africa ctain Faf du Plessis has spoken about what made MS Dhoni a unique leader during their time together at the Chennai Super Kings.
- “That’s something I want to take away from him” – Faf du Plessis reveals MS Dhoni’s superpower (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/) Proteas pro Faf du Plessis has shared his experience of working with legendary goalkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and described the former India player’s match instinct as a quality he wants to bring into his own leadership.
- Du Plessis, who has amassed 4,773 runs in 154 IPL pearances, featured twice in nine seasons for the Chennai-based franchise before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru as ctain in 2022.
“That’s something I want to take away from him” – Faf du Plessis reveals MS Dhoni’s superpower Former South Africa ctain Faf du Plessis has spoken about what made MS Dhoni a unique leader during their time together at the Chennai Super Kings.
“That’s something I want to take away from him” – Faf du Plessis reveals MS Dhoni’s superpower (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/) Proteas pro Faf du Plessis has shared his experience of working with legendary goalkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and described the former India player’s match instinct as a quality he wants to bring into his own leadership. Du Plessis, who has amassed 4,773 runs in 154 IPL pearances, featured twice in nine seasons for the Chennai-based franchise before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru as ctain in 2022. During this time, he won three IPL titles and observed Dhoni’s methods closely.
Du Plessis reflected on what made up Dhoni’s artistry on the Prakhar Gupta Podcast and explained that the CSK icon rarely relied on pre-match plans and instead preferred to rely on his assessment of the situations that transpired in the middle. Du Plessis said: “This guy has an incredible understanding of the game on the pitch. He doesn’t like to plan too much in advance and prefers to behave instinctively during the game.
That was his superpower. He read the game and the players and maintained a remarkable calm, because everyone knows that he is a very calm person. This is something I want to take away from him and ply to my own constituency,” Du Plessis said in the source cited above.
When Steven Smith came under public criticism following the ball-tampering scandal at the This Town Test on March 24, 2018, support came from unexpected quarters. Faf du Plessis, the South African club whose team faced Australia in that series, recalled the moment Smith spoke to the media after the game that day. In a video series called Cricketers on Cricketers, du Plessis reflected on his compassion for Smith’s situation.
The South African player was himself accused of ball-tampering in Hobart in 2016 when he changed the state of the ball using leftover candy. Du Plessis understood the weight of such allegations and the media storm that followed. “At the end of the day in Ce Town in 2018, Smith said, ‘I take responsibility.’ And we said to each other, “Why are you taking responsibility?”
“They did nothing wrong,” Du Plessis recalled in the aforementioned source. The Australian ctain’s willingness to take the blame seemed unusual to Du Plessis, as Smith had not personally carried out the manipulation. The parallel between his own experience and Smith’s predicament spurred him to action.
“In terms of the media and the pressure that was put on him, everything blew up. I immediately said to myself: It’s not his fault. It is the same as my allegation of ball tampering,” Du Plessis added.
