Faf du Plessis’ illustrious stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came to an end on day 1 of the IPL 2022 mega auction when Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made the winning bid of Rs 7 crore. CSK were quite keen to get the services of their star performer but backed out once his price went beyond the 3.20 crore mark.
Plessis enjoyed MS Dhoni’s support and shared the dressing room with him in every IPL season since 2011. He represented the Yellow Army from 2012 to 2015 before moving to Rising Pune Supergiant. CSK acquired Plessis’ services in the IPL 2018 mega auction again.
Courtesy of his brilliant run in the past 4 years, CSK once again bid for him but missed out. The move has been a talking point for a week now and CSK’s fans are continuing to pay tribute to the team’s former opener.
‘We love you Faf’ has been a one of the top trends on Twitter and the CSK fans are heaping praise on the ‘Superking’. “Faf Duplessis Sir has given many memorable moment to @ChennaiIPL and their Fans. We will always love and Respect you Champ @faf1307 Sir. 2018 IPL First qualifier and 2021 IPL Finals two great Knock played by him. “WE YELLOVE YOU FAF,” a user wrote on Twitter.
Plessis played a key role in CSK’s title win in 2018 and 2021. The opening batsman remained unbeaten on 67 off 42 in the first Qualifier of IPL 2018 as CSK chased down the target of 140. They were 4 down for 39 at one stage in the chase and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.
In the IPL 2021 final, du Plessis hit a match-winning knock of 86 off 59 as CSK put up a big total of 192. He finished with 633 runs, falling just 2 runs short of the Orange Cap, in 16 matches last year. In total, Plessis scored 2721 runs for CSK and is their 3rd-highest run-scorer in IPL.
At RCB, du Plessis will likely kick off the proceedings with Virat Kohli. He could also be a contender to lead the franchise as Kohli has stepped down from the top job.
