Image Credit- AFP
Faf du Plessis’
incredible performance just one month ago qualified the Johannesburg Super
Kings for the SA20 playoffs. And in four months, he will be back in the yellow
uniform for the Texas Super Kings, partnering with head coach Stephen Fleming.
However, du Plessis has currently given up his yellow second skin in favour of
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s red and blue for the rest of this IPL. He was
once a fan darling at Chepauk and on Friday, he will make his debut as the
captain of the RCB in Chennai. He will not, however, be facing the opponent
that du Plessis had anticipated.
Just hours before
the teams reported for training on the eve of the IPL 2024 season opener,
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the previous opening partner of Plessis, was named CSK’s
captain, taking MS Dhoni’s place.
Given that the odds are stacked against RCB in Chennai, Gaikwad has a proud
record to protect. They had previously defeated CSK at Chepauk during Fleming’s
playing days in the inaugural IPL season (2008). RCB has since suffered seven
straight losses.
during undergoing
knee surgery during the previous IPL season, Dhoni, 42, is expected to play
again after almost a year off. Shivam Dube, CSK’s specialist spin batter, is
also healthy after missing the Ranji Trophy knockout stages due to an injury.
They will be missing their death-overs specialist, Sri Lankan slinger Matheesha
Pathirana, though, since he is out for the first few matches of the 2024 Indian
Premier League due to a hamstring injury.
After a two-month hiatus, Virat Kohli will also play competitive cricket again
for the RCB. Since the last IPL, he has only participated in two T20 matches
(against Afghanistan in January). This season will serve as his preparation for
the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will take place in June. Early in those two innings
against Afghanistan, Kohli adopted an unusually aggressive stance; will he bat
the same way for RCB?