'Enjoyed my time a lot, I miss everyone' - Faf du Plessis bids emotional goodbye to CSK after being picked by RCB in IPL 2022 mega auction

The mega auction for the upcoming IPL 2022 got underway in Bengaluru on February 12. The last IPL mega auction took place in 2018 when 169 players were brought by the then existing eight franchises. However, there’s a twist this year as two more franchises have been inducted into the tournament- the Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans.

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Both cricket players as well as fans have seen some thrilling bidding wars between franchises to buy players who they feel will help their respective teams in their pursuit of victory in one of the most premier T20 leagues in the world.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan ended up being the most expensive buy in the auction, going for a whopping INR 15.25 crore to his franchise in the last season, the Mumbai Indians. Liam Livingstone, the hard-hitting England all-rounder, became the most expensive foreign pick this year, sold for INR 11.50 Crores to the Punjab Kings.

Just want to thank Chennai: Faf Du Plessis

South African Faf du Plessis has played 100 matches in his IPL career and scored 2,935 runs in that time. In IPL 2021, he scored 633 runs at a strike rate of 138.20, with six half-centuries to go alongside. Du Plessis first featured for the Super Kings in 2011 and went on to play for the same franchise till 2015 until they were suspended for two years. He played alongside Dhoni in 2016 and 2017 in the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants.

“I just want to thank Chennai, the fans, the staff and management and players for what has been a decade as one team. We created a lot of special memories and it’s important for me to say thank you”, said Du Plessis in a video posted on the Chennai Super King’s official Twitter handle.

“I’ve enjoyed my time a lot, I miss everyone there. But if one door closes and a new one opens up and that comes up with great opportunities and I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he added.

Du Plessis reunited with the CSK in 2018 and played for them till 2021 until he was brought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore on day 1 of the mega auction. The South African cricketer was listed at a base price of INR 2 crores and after a heated bidding duel, RCB brought the opening batter at a hefty sum of INR 7 crore.