3 reasons why Faf du Plessis is not the best option as RCB captain for IPL 2022

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) named veteran South African batter Faf du Plessis as their captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season on Saturday. The 37-year-old Proteas batter was purchased by RCB at the mega auction last month for ₹7 crore.

The Bengaluru-based franchise had to pick a new leader for the IPL 2022 season after Virat Kohli stepped down from the post after the completion of the previous edition. RCB made the announcement of their new captain at an event on Saturday. Sharing a video message for the franchise’s new leader, his predecessor Kohli said that he is happy to pass on the baton to Du Plessis and is excited to partner with and play under him.

Du Plessis was a key figure in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) IPL 2021 triumph. He amassed 633 runs in 16 matches at an average of 45.21 and a strike rate of 138.20. The right-handed batter was, in fact, the Player of the Final for his brilliant 59-ball 86 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

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Could RCB have looked beyond Faf du Plessis as leader?

While Du Plessis is no doubt a quality batter, we list three reasons why RCB might have got it wrong by appointing him as captain.

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#1 The age factor

Faf du Plessis representing CSK in the IPL. Pic: Getty Images

This is the biggest concern with regards to Du Plessis’s appointment as RCB captain. He will turn 38 in July this year and, even though he is incredibly fit, his selection might be viewed by many critics as a short-term role. Given the age factor, he might not be able to lead RCB for more than two seasons, which means the franchise will have to hunt for a new leader soon. This change at the top definitely affects the balance of the team.

If we look at the history of the IPL, titles have been won by franchises who have had continuity in the captaincy. Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the best examples. Rohit Sharma has been captain in all five of MI’s title wins while MS Dhoni has guided CSK to four IPL triumphs. David Warner even settled in as captain when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the championship in 2016.

If RCB appoint a new captain in a couple of seasons, they will have to go through the cycle of rebuilding all over again, which is quite a tedious exercise.

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#2 Indian captain would have made more sense

Dinesh Karthik was also said to be in the running. Pic: Getty Images

If we look at the trend in the IPL, a majority of the franchises are now preferring Indian captains. While CSK and MI have Dhoni and Rohit, KKR have also replaced Eoin Morgan with Shreyas Iyer. Delhi Capitals earlier had Shreyas as captain and now have Pant as leader. Even the two new franchises - Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans - have Indian captains KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya respectively. With the exception of Sunrisers Hyderabad (led by Kane Williamson) and now RCB, all other teams have Indian skippers.

There’s a specific reason behind this shift. When an overseas player becomes captain, he blocks one of the four slots reserved for foreign players. And it is really tough to drop a captain from a playing XI unless he himself gives up, like Gautam Gambhir did a few seasons ago. KKR were literally one batter short right through IPL 2021 as Morgan hardly scored any runs.

Things become much easier to work around when a struggling overseas player is not the leader. RCB will expect Du Plessis to deliver, of course, but this KKR-like situation could arise just in case the captain fails to live up to expectations with the willow.

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#3 RCB could have gone with Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell in the Big Bash League. Pic: Getty Images

To be fair to RCB, with Kohli unwilling to take up the responsibility again, Dinesh Karthik was the only Indian option the franchise had as leader. But the Indian wicketkeeper-batter does not have great leadership credentials, having led KKR in the past without much success. This is perhaps why the RCB think tank would have been apprehensive about giving Karthik the role.

But even if they did not want the keeper-batter as a leader, the franchise had the option of going with Glenn Maxwell. The Aussie is 33 and could have been a slightly longer-term option in comparison to Du Plessis. Maxwell has the experience of leading the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL) and cracked a sensational 154* off only 64 balls against the Hobart Hurricanes at the start of the year.

Maxwell was one of RCB’s most reliable batters during the 2021 season. He took greater responsibility and ended the edition with 513 runs from 15 matches at a strike rate of 144.10. Rewarding him with the captaincy might not have been a bad move.