IPL 2022: Faf du Plessis named RCB captain for the upcoming season

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have named Faf du Plessis as their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Virat Kohli stepped down from the position at the end of the last season and it also coincided with him getting relieved off his international duties as the captain of the Indian team. Du Plessis is indeed an experienced campaigner having led South Africa from December 2016 (name all-format captain in August 2017) to February 2020.

Apart from captaincy experience at the highest level, the Proteas icon is also one of the most accomplished batters in the IPL and has played a key role in the Chennai Super Kings’ title triumphs in the 2018 and 2021 editions respectively.

Faf du Plessis played a crucial role for CSK in the last few years

Faf du Plessis was one of CSK’s integral members in IPL 2021 and made a significant contribution to the team’s fourth title triumph. In fact, he had finished as the second-highest run-scorer last season with 633 runs from 16 matches i.e. just two runs short of his teammate and the Orange Cap winner Ruturaj Gaikwad who finished with 635 runs to his tally. Nonetheless, the veteran cricketer was released by the franchise despite consistent performances in the last few seasons.

At the IPL 2022 mega auction, he was welcomed onboard by Bangalore for a sum of INR 7 crore. Apart from that, the three-time finalists also made some really important purchases by including Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, etc. RCB also made some smart overseas buys with Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, Finn Allen, Jason Behrendorff, the pace duo of David Willey, and Josh Hazlewood to name a few.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore also bought back pacer Harshal Patel, who had bagged the Purple Cap last season, for INR 10.75 crore. RCB have made the finals thrice in 2009, 2011, and 2016 editions respectively but have failed to go all the way.

With a promising team on paper, they would be hoping for a revival in fortunes this time around. Bangalore will kickstart their IPL 2022 campaign against Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on March 27.