"We wanted somebody who had...." Mike Hesson reveals the reason to include Faf du Plessis in RCB
When Virat Kohli decided to step down from the captaincy position after IPL 2021, Royal Challengers Bangalore were in dire need of an able leader. They required a player who keeps the team glued and also fetches results consistently at the same time. RCB think-tank found Faf du Plessis as a perfect candidate for that role.
In the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022, RCB bought Faf du Plessis at a whopping INR 7 crore. The director of Cricket Operations of Bangalore, Mike Hesson, now reveals the though-process behind the inclusion of Faf du Plessis. Hesson spoke highly of the Proteas player in the RCB podcast.
Mike Hesson reveals the reason behind buying Faf du Plessis in the mega auction
Faf du Plessis has done a brilliant job in his tenure as an RCB skipper so far. Under his visionary leadership, RCB finished as the third-best IPL team last season and have done reasonably well this year so far.
In an RCB podcast, Mike Hesson said the team wanted someone who would have “respect within the group instantly”.
“I guess it’s really difficult coming into a group when the previous captain is still there. So we needed somebody that could come in, would have respect within the group instantly because if he comes in, a lot of people can be intimidated by the ex-captain being near and potentially aren’t confident enough to make your own decisions,” exclaimed Hesson. “So we wanted somebody who had captained at an international level before, ideally. Somebody that had respect from amongst the Indian players and the international players. That was really important that it wasn’t just somebody that would take a year to be in. We felt that at RCB we needed someone to hit the ground running.”
Clearly, Mike Hesson and Co wanted a player with previous International and IPL experience under the belt. Faf du Plessis also fit the criteria set for the post. Before being a part of RCB, Faf had featured in 262 international games for South Africa and 99 matches in the cash-rich league.
Faf du Plessis’ personal form this season has also been top-notch this season. The 38-year-old is currently the orange cap holder, with 259 runs at a sublime batting average of 64.75 and a strike rate of 172.67 so far. Faf has also made three fifties in five innings in IPL 2023. Faf du Plessis’ form will again be crucial for RCB going forward in the tournament.