Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis recently hailed MS Dhoni and also shared his experience of working with the legendary wicketkeeper during his association with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Du Plessis was with CSK for nine seasons before joining the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2022. In 154 IPL matches, he scored 4,773 runs.
During his tenure with Chennai, he won three IPL titles and enjoyed his time with the former India skipper. The former Proteas leader opened up on the tactics and leadership of MS Dhoni.
Speaking on the Prakhar Gupta Podcast, Du Plessis mentioned that Dhoni rarely relied on the plans discussed before the match and instead trusted his instincts, making decisions based on the conditions and situation on the field.
“He knows everything about the game. He doesn’t believe in planning a lot and prefers to make decisions on the field during the match. That was his superpower. He read the game and players without showing emotions. He is a composed person, and that is something I want to take from him and apply to my leadership style,” said Faf du Plessis.
Faf also recalled the sandpapergate controversy involving Australian players in the 2018 Test series in Australia. Steve Smith, who was the captain of the national team, took full responsibility for the incident. Du Plessis understood Smith’s situation when the latter accepted the mistake.
“Steve came out at the end of the day (in Cape Town in 2018) saying: ‘I take responsibility.’ And we were like: ‘Why are you taking responsibility? You did nothing wrong,'” du Plessis said on Cricinfo.
Smith was banned for one Test by the ICC, but Cricket Australia imposed a 12-month suspension on him and David Warner. Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
Bancroft was seen on camera using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the Cape Town Test.