‘Very lucky to have played with leaders…’ – RCB skipper Faf du Plessis heaps praise on MS Dhoni

As one of the best leaders in the history of cricket, MS Dhoni said that he is in the ‘last phase’ of his career, players and fans have been enjoying his renaissance in the current edition of the Indian Premier League. Although it is unknown if the captain of the Chennai Super Kings would participate in the Indian Premier League for next season, other players have been paying tribute to the “Thala.” 

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis, who played for the Chennai franchise for the majority of his IPL tenure, has nothing but admiration for the CSK captain in an exclusive interview with NDTV. Du Plessis claimed that he was fortunate to have received money from powerful figures like Graeme Smith, Stephen Fleming, and MS Dhoni.

Faf du Plessis talks about the time he learnt from some of the greats of the game. He said, “Very lucky to have played with leaders that I could learn from. When I was playing for South Africa, Graeme Smith was the captain there and then my first year moving to Chennai, I didn’t play one game that year but my sole purpose from the season was to learn. I would be sitting next to Stephen Fleming, asking him questions. A lot about leadership, more than he would’ve expected someone to ask.”

The former South African batter spoke about how he learnt from the current CSK skipper MS Dhoni and he can never replicate what other major captains had achieved. He said, “I was just observing MS from a distance. I was stealing from my eyes, my years about why he is so successful, what makes him so successful. Even at that stage, one of the most successful international and domestic captains in the world of cricket. It was a privilege to learn from someone like that. But I think also something that I picked up really early on was the importance of being the leader that you are. I could never captain like MS or Virat or Graeme Smith or Stephen Fleming. I find my own way but you can look at things and incorporate from other people.”