IPL 2022: Mike Hesson lauds RCB captain Faf du Plessis for creating a legacy of his own

Mumbai, May 25: Royal Challengers Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson, believes the team's new captain Faf du Plessis has contributed well to the team's journey in the IPL 2022 and that the former South Africa skipper is creating a legacy of his own.

Speaking exclusively on RCB Bold Diaries, Hesson even hoped that the Protea cricketer - who is one of the best freelancers in T20 leagues - can lead the team in the next three years.

Hesson said on RCB Bold Diaries, "Faf's been great, once we decided who was going to be Captain and he was made aware of that, it was certainly not all about him putting a stamp on it, but coming in and contributing to the culture, and the word culture is often overused and often it's based around performance. So, people go, "oh they've won, so they must have a great culture, for me, the culture happens first, it's something that is quite hard to define, it's more about how you react under pressure, how you react to your team-mates, and Faf is big on that. He is big on creating a legacy as well in terms of we have actually got to set things in place for the next 3 years and hopefully beyond. He also has the capability of bringing people along for the ride, which I think is really important."

Praising former RCB captain Virat Kohli, Hesson said that the legendary India cricketer certainly plays a big role in keeping the team together.

"Virat is obviously a key part of that, being our ex-Captain, and such an influential character, but he also brought a whole lot of senior players for the ride that he can engage with. All the young guys love him because he cares, actually genuinely talks and sit to have breakfast with them, gets to know them, sits them by the pool, whatever it is to actually build that group and he does that organically, it's not fake, it's quite a natural way with how he deals with people," Hesson added.

RCB have made it to the playoffs and the team will be facing Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator on May 25 at Eden Gardens while speaking about handling the pressure and qualifying for the playoffs, Hesson claimed, "I think it is more about having some real consistency of how we go about our work; you try to limit those ups and downs that happen in any IPL. It is all about being calm under pressure, in terms of, what your response is when you are under the pump, do you panic, do you make horrible changes, or do you believe in what you're trying to do? A lot of work goes behind the scenes in terms of making sure we are clear on how we want to play our cricket, and then about who are the people that can fulfil those roles. Therefore, if they do have ups and downs, we can live with that because we know they are good, over time in those roles. When Wanindu has been exceptional in terms of middle over wickets for us, you can only control the back of the innings, if you take wickets in the middle and when into the wickets, he's got have been critical. Josh Hazlewood has come in and he shows experience and he's a banker and he's got big wickets for us; he has shown his skill at the death as well which has been critical."

Sharing his anecdotes on RCB players on RCB Bold Diaries, Hesson said, "Harshal has done what we know he can do, he creates pressure, has taken wickets and loves the death overs which not many people put their hand up to say, "I want to do that job".

"I think Maxwell has been very impressive, he hit the ball on the power play, hit the ball tough overs, he's gone at seven and over, he's shown his experience and has just made it easier for Shahbaz to do his job and they have actually combined really nicely, from that bowling point of view. Akash Deep showed some good signs when he got some opportunities."

Speaking about the forgettable season Mohammed Siraj has had, Hesson said, "Siraj hasn't been at his best but he still had some impactful performances, especially through the middle, which have helped us at times."

Hesson termed Rajat Patidar as the unsung hero and even praised Mahipal Lomror for making valuable contributions whenever he was given a chance.

"With the bat, Rajat Patidar is an unsung hero, he came as a replacement, he played some important innings for us, and he's a guy who we are really looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next couple of years. Mahipal has been really impressive in terms of he came in sort of late, had an initial injury and came back, had to wait, by the time he came back in and added that spark," the former New Zealand coach said.

Praising Glenn Maxwell Hesson said, "Maxi has just got better and better as the tournament has progressed, but DK has probably been that rock, when you miss a guy like AB, we talked about how you replace AB and we know we're not doing that, but he's been exceptional, in terms of finishing. Shahbaz has shown the fact that in the last couple of years he's got more and more comfortable in the IPL and that those little cameos with the bat and the ball have been important for us."