Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally named their captain for the upcoming IPL 2022 on Saturday, putting an end to all the speculation.
RCB named Faf du Plessis as their new captain for the 15th season after Virat Kohli stepped down at the end of IPL 2021. Faf beat out fellow contenders like Dinesh Karthik, who was picked for INR 5.5 crore at the auction, and Australia's Glenn Maxwell, who was retained by the franchise.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of India, was blown away by the decision, calling it "terrific."
Gavaskar told Star Sports after RCB's big announcement that Faf had led the South African side out of a mess and that the 37-year-old has a lot of captaincy experience.
"Loads of captaincy experience, loads of leadership quality you see in Faf du Plessis. I am not surprised at all. Remember, he took South African cricket ahead. There was a time in South African cricket when there was a bit of turmoil. He managed to get the team together and get South Africa right up to the top. Clearly, a terrific decision by RCB to hand over the captaincy to Faf du Plessis," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Also Read: IPL 2022: “No cricketer in the world can fill in AB de Villiers’ shoes”- RCB captain Faf du Plessis
Faf, who has played for the Rising Pune Supergiants and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, has captained South Africa in 36 Tests and 39 One-Day Internationals between 2013 and 2019.
"Big shoes to fill (AB de Villiers' absence), no doubt about that. Faf du Plessis will open the batting. He would want to lead from the front, show the way. These are exciting times for RCB," he added.
Kohli's commitment to the team he plays for, whether it's RCB or India, must not be diminished now that he is no longer captain of the franchise, according to the legendary batter.
"Don't for a moment think just because Kohli is not captain, his performance is going to go down. We have seen him even now in Tests, how he is all the time with Rohit Sharma, trying to help him out. His involvement is total, he wants his team to win, whether he is captain or not. So that is what he will do with RCB," he added.
On March 27, RCB will face Punjab Kings in the IPL 2022 season opener.
