IPL auction 2025: Big test ahead for veteran Faf du Plessis as he goes under hammer in Jeddah
Faf du Plessis, who led the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for three IPL seasons from 2022 to 2024, was not retained by the franchise for the upcoming league. This places du Plessis alongside Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul in the pool for the IPL mega auctions.
Andy Flower, RCB's head coach, acknowledged du Plessis's contributions. «Last year, Faf's captaincy and leadership — in what was a really tough season, particularly in the first half — was sensational,» Flower said. «He led the revival that took us into the finals.»
Du Plessis' IPL career:
Being part of one of the most decorated franchises, Faf du Plessis won two IPL finals, both with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in 2018 and 2021. He clinched Player of the Match in the 2021 final for his 59-ball 86, which took CSK to 192 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Apart from playing for CSK, Du Plessis has played for two other teams in the IPL: Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), captaining RCB since 2022. As of 2024, he is one of the only five players to have scored 4000 or more IPL runs without a century to their name. The others are MS Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir.
Du Plessis demonstrated his value to RCB in the past two seasons. In 2024, he guided the team to the playoffs with a remarkable seven consecutive wins. In 2023, he was a strong contender for the Orange Cap with 730 runs at a strike rate of 153.68 from 14 matches.
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