'I found this new purpose' - Faf du Plessis on captaining RCB
Faf du Plessis said being given captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) revitalised his playing ambitions in competitive cricket. The South African batting stalwart, who led RCB in IPL 2022 in what was his first-ever season with the franchise, attributed his initial success with the team to the desire that the opportunity to captain ignited in him.
Du Plessis was at his shrewd best as a leader for the famed franchise and aided the continuation of their impressive surge towards other playoffs finish. The veteran right-hander led from the front with the bat, making 468 runs in his 16 innings for the team.
Discarded by the South African team at the twilight of his career, and surprisingly left out by his former franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) despite him nearly top-scoring in their title-winning campaign in IPL 2021, Faf du Plessis said he needed a motivation at the time when RCB gave him the captaincy responsibilities.
Calling it his "new purpose" as an IPL giant, the 38-year-old attributed his success with the side as player and captain down to the fresh lease of life that RCB indirectly paved way for him, acting as a catalyst to bring his best out on the park.
Du Plessis on captaining RCB
Speaking on the RCB podcast episode, Faf du Plessis said being given the RCB captaincy was an important reminder to him that he "still belong" to the top-level game. The decision made in the aftermath of his controversial axing by the Proteas gave him the inspiration to perform for the team and lead them by example, as his predecessor Virat Kohli did back in time.
"I think as a cricketer, the moment that reaffirmed to me and told me that I belong at this level," Du Plessis said. "And I want to be at this level... was (the moment) like, you belong here. So that moment was from where, I was just like, this is what I want to do. Yeah, I became super purpose driven. After that, I became the Proteas, the Heartbeat if I could say that. I lived and breathed everything about Cricket South Africa."
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"Then now at this next chapter in my life, I found this new purpose and especially now with RCB, as I said you've got something that really lights your desire inside you."
"Yeah, I want to do something special and then that gives you a new sense of purpose because I don't want to play just for the sake of playing. There's always something that drives me more than just the Rands or whatever," he added.
Du Plessis would love to continue on that vein with the bat and as a leader come IPL 2023 and be the man to help the famous RCB franchise bag their maiden title.