Dinesh Karthik, who was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2022 mega auction, has said that the franchise has made the best choice in picking Faf du Plessis as the next captain, given his experience in both, international cricket and in the Indian Premier League.
Faf du Plessis on Saturday was named RCB’s new skipper and he will take over from Virat Kohli, who led the franchise from 2013 to 2021.
The former South Africa captain was acquired by Bangalore in the recent mega auction after getting into a bidding war with his former franchise Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, for INR 7 crores.
Also because he has retired from international cricket, Du Plessis will be available for the entire season and comes into the RCB team with the experience of 69 Tests, 143 ODIs and 50 T20I matches, and 100 IPL appearances.
Dinesh Karthik, who himself was an option for captaincy in RCB, described du Plessis' appointment as the right move.
"He's the right choice. He's at that stage in his career when he's ready to take on the responsibility. He's played IPL for a certain amount of time. He's taking his time to know the youngsters and his batting is a big plus as well. We have some strong characters in the team and he's one of those guys. He's played for his country for a good amount of time and is a great tactician too. At this point in time, Faf is a very good choice for RCB and they have absolutely made the right choice," Karthik told Cricbuzz.
"When you talk about overseas captains, Shane Warne comes to your mind. George Bailey also did a good job for Punjab. Eoin Morgan, out of the personal experience, was fabulous as a captain. He was a very good tactician and looked at the game in a different way. With Faf, it's hard for me to judge how it's going to go right off the bat.
But he's led franchises in other tournaments and done a good job at that. That definitely would've played a part behind his appointment as RCB captain. He's first trying to create a relationship with young guys. The name that he's got especially in CSK is that he's a very warm guy," he further added.
Du Plessis was handed over the cap by team's chairman Prathmesh Mishra and director cricket operations Mike Hesson.
RCB will open their IPL 2022 campaign on March 27 against Punjab Kings.
