Faf du Plessis MS Dhoni. Image Credits: BCCI
Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni have been teammates for a long time. The Proteas veteran has been a long-time associate of Chennai Super Kings and has played in the IPL under the guidance of Dhoni from 2012 to 2021.
In these 9 long years, while playing for CSK and Rising Pune Supergiants, Faf has closely observed MS Dhoni’s captaincy movements and instincts. Speaking of his special superpower, Faf then revealed what that one superpower is that he would like to steal from the CSK legend.
Faf du Plessis reveals MS Dhoni’s ultra instinct that he wants to snatch
MS Dhoni, who is on a fifty-fifty boat to play in IPL 2027, has been captaining the side since 2008 and has led the franchise to five titles before stepping down from the role in 2023. Under Dhoni’s leadership, CSK was a formidable and dominant team that conquered the points table.
Speaking to the Prakhar Gupta podcast, Faf du Plessis revealed how Dhoni mastered the technique of instinctively reading the opponent's game.
"This guy has an incredible understanding of the game on the field. He doesn't like to plan too much beforehand and prefers to be instinctive during the match,” Faf said.
Further, Faf du Plessis added that Dhoni was extremely calm and handled situations like a mastermind, and that ultra instinct and calm composure were the abilities that Faf would also like to steal from him.
"That was his superpower. He would read the game and the players while staying remarkably calm, as everyone knows he is a very composed person. That's something I want to take from him and apply to my own captaincy," said Faf.
Notably, Faf du Plessis won the Caribbean Premier League in 2024 as the captain of Saint Lucia Kings.
What CSK achieved under MS Dhoni?
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, the franchise has won five IPL titles in the years 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. Remarkably, the team reached the finals 10 times in the history of the tournament, which has been running for 18 years.
Out of the 244 matches Dhoni led CSK in, 145 were won, with a win-to-loss ratio of 1.51. Most of the matches were won against Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Notably, the team was eliminated only 3 times in the semi-finals while playing in the IPL.
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