Faf du Plessis' 'Fazl' tattoo and its meaning you need to know

“He loves to get his kit off, doesn’t he? Every second, whenever there was an opportunity to take his shirt off, he’d do it. And fair enough, if you look like that, why wouldn’t you?” says Brendon McCullum while describing his former Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.

Svelte looks, sculpted body, tattooed skin, gelled hair, and swagger are all Faf du Plessis’ things. He could have well been a model had God not bestowed him with that wily cricket brain. But du Plessis took the looking-good task as seriously as his game, with tattoos on his skin adding more to his swag.

He has many of those, all of which he dedicates to the different stories of his life. The quarter sleeve on his arm gives an insight into all-important life events. Another one, on the side of his arm, reads “Dies a Domino XVII I MMXI”; it symbolizes his debut for the Proteas at Lord’s in England. 

On the side, he has a compass directed towards the Adelaide Oval, the venue of his Test debut for his team. The same one also has dates of his marriage inscribed and the day he was baptized. Right above that one is “Agape”, meaning "unconditional love".

While the meaning of his tattoos has either been revealed by him or discovered by his finicky fans, many have been unable to decipher the one over his left rib, which reads "فضل" i.e. “Fazl” in Arabic. The word translates to “grace”, and a believer of the Almighty. du Plessis dedicates this one to the change in his life by the grace of God.

Meanwhile, on the cricket front, du Plessis is leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Indian Premier League 2023. Having hung his boots from Test cricket and not being in South Africa's white-ball radar, the 38-year-old has shifted his focus entirely to franchise-based league cricket.