Royal Challengers Bangalore appoints Faf du Plessis as captain, replaces Virat Kohli

After a video uploaded on Twitter teasing fans with the mystery announcement last week for the upcoming IPL 2022, the Royal Challengers Bangalore has appointed South African professional cricketer Francois "Faf" du Plessis as the new captain replacing Virat Kohli on Saturday, alongside new team jersey has been revealed ahead of the competition.

Bangalore has been actively looking for Kohli’s replacement as the IPL 2022 is just around the corner. Many had speculated new recruit Faf du Plessis and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell as the strong skipper candidates for the franchise.

Eventually, development led to Bangalore with Faf du Plessis leading the team in the new season of IPL. The new skipper expressed his excitement saying that he was glad to accept the role of captain.

“The opportunity to be the captain of a franchise like RCB is massive and a role I was glad to accept,” he said. “I will do my best to ensure a successful season this time.”

Former captain and fellow teammate Kohli added a few words for Faf du Plessis saying the two will have an exciting partnership within the franchise.

“He’s one of the few guys I’ve gotten to know a little bit more apart from the cricket. My partnership with Faf is going to be exciting,” Kohli added.

Faf du Plessis' profile

Prior to the announcement, Bangalore as previously mentioned is keen on appointing a new captain as Kohli has no longer don the status. Fans of the former captain on the other wanted him to reconsider his decision, but Kohli desired “some space” and there is nothing to be shocked about his decision.

"Because it’s very difficult for people to understand your decisions unless they are in your situation. From the outside, people have their own expectations ‘Oh! How did that happen? We are so shocked.’ There’s nothing to be shocked about. I explain to people, I wanted some space and I wanted to manage my workload and the story ends there,” Kohli said.

Kohli stepping down made Bangalore captain-less and the franchise had to look in the mega auction for any candidates suitable for the position.

Having no interest in young cricketers, Bangalore narrowed down to three players, namely Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik. The third is out of the frame for enthusiasts and critics.

Faf du Plessis is more likely as he had prior leadership experience as the former captain of the South Africa national cricket team. Therefore, making him a top skipper candidate for Bangalore.

He had to undergo a fierce trade war among IPL franchises until he was signed to Bangalore for $900,000 in the auction.

Team chairman Prathmesh Mishra has revealed that signing the South African in the auction “was among our top priority at the IPL auctions”.

Bangalore director of cricket operations Mike Hesson also had praised the 37-year-old former captain as “a world-class player” with the ability to lead a team at the international stage.

“Faf is not only a world-class player, he has also shown tremendous ability to lead on the international stage in all three formats of the game,” Hesson said.

Faf du Plessis is a veteran batsman with a domestic cricketing career that spans 15 franchises and has recorded 4,163 Test, 5,507 ODI, 1,528 T20I as well as 8,798 FC.

The right-handed batsman also has a batting average of 40.03, 47.47, 35.53 and 39.27 in accordance with the order of competition formats above.