MS Dhoni captaincy takeover at CSK: Why RCB captain Faf du Plessis is surprised!

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Mumbai, May 4: Chennai Super Kings sprang a surprise when they decided to bring back MS Dhoni as their captain in place of Ravindra Jadeja for the remainder for IPL 2022.

In a dramatic move, the CSK decided on a mid-season captaincy swap and it became all the more bewildering because the Chennai franchise is not known to make such seemingly sudden decisions.

Faf du Plessis, now the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, is no stranger to the CSK atmosphere as he was a long-time member in their dugout and had won two IPL titles with the Yellow Brigade.

So, Faf, who will lead CSK against RCB on Wednesday (May 4) expressed surprise that the Super Kings actually took that call to change captain mid-season.

"I am surprised that it’s happened in-season. I am also surprised that it happened the way that it did in the start of the season. So the two surprises almost canceling each other out," Faf du Plessis told RCB website in a video chat.

"So obviously, there is no secret there. I think when MS is there, when he is captain, he does get the best out of the players. That’s been a big part of CSK’s success. That’s a big challenge for us, we have to make sure that’s not a factor on Wednesday,” said the South African.

Dhoni had attributed that change to Jadeja struggling with his match preparations because of the burden of captaincy.

“I think what is important is that once you become the captain, you have to take care of lot many things and also includes taking care of your own game. His mind was working a lot, it is not easy to control your mind.

“It is a strongest feature, body physics all that is fine, but once your mind starts working and it wants to contribute more, okay what is the combination that I can play with, okay who can bowl at what point, it does not really stop," Dhoni told Star Sports at the post-match presentation.

"So, what really happens is the individual is not able to relax, even when he closes his eyes and wants to sleep, the mind is still working. I felt that it was having an effect on his game also, when he goes into bat.

“When it comes to his preparation, is putting this burden, affecting his game. I would love to have a Jadeja as a bowler, batter and a fielder. Captaincy fair enough, even if you relieve the captaincy but you are at your best, this is what we want.

“We were also losing a great fielder, we were struggling for a deep mid-wicket fielder still we have dropped 17-18 catches so you know that is a matter of concern," he added.

RCB’s director of cricket operations, Mike Hesson, said Bangalore will be looking to apply pressure on CSK in the vital encounter.

"We got some confidence out of the last game from things that we did a lot better. We just look for that little extra point of difference.

“Our middle-over bowling has been one of the best in the competition. We know their strengths. We are going to try and apply pressure in different ways," Hesson said.