Faf du Plessis fact file: Here's what you may not know about the RCB captain

Faf du Plessis will be leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 15th season of the IPL as Virat Kohli will be shadowing the former South African skipper after a staggering reign at the helm for eight long years.

However, this is not the first rodeo for Faf in captaining a big side. He has previously led South Africa in all formats of the sport and that is clearly indicative of the fact that he is very well aware of the responsibility that comes along with it.

We are all accustomed to Faf’s glittering career in the shortest format of the sport and the Challengers have already been buoyed by the South African’s purchase. As a homage to the legend of Faf du Plessis, here are a few facts that you should know about the South African skipper.

1.    Faf started his sporting career with rugby

Contrary to popular belief, Faf wasn’t an ardent cricketing zealot since his childhood. His strength lay in a game that has seen countless ankles shatter into pieces; rugby. However, it was the same fear that spurred him into a change of interest as he shuffled his allegiance to cricket.

2.    Fourth Protean to score a century on his Test debut

Faf became the fourth South African to rack up a century on his Test debut with Andrew Hudson, Alviro Peterson, and Jacques Rudolph being the other three to notch up this incredible feat. He scored a fine 78 in the first innings and followed it up with an incredible 110 in the second. In fact, such was the impact of his knock that he was ennobled with the honor of the player of the match.

3.    Second South African T20I centurion

Du Plessis hammered home an incredible 119 against West Indies and he timed his effort incredibly as he only consumed 56 balls to gather it. Richard Levi was the first to achieve this feat while Faf became the second followed by Morne van Wyk and David Miller to make this happen.

4.    Only bowler to claim two fifers in T20 cricket

A fact that is very rarely known about Faf is that he used to bowl too and that landed him two consecutive fifers which also makes him the only bowler to achieve this feat. He claimed his first fifer against Easterns in MiWAY Challenge and backed it up with his second fifer against the Lions in 2012.

5.   Second captain in international cricket to have scored centuries in all formats of the game

Faf also boasts of a rare feat that he racked up in 2016-17 where he scored a ton in the second ODI against Australia, becoming the second player in the glittering antiquity of the sport to have scored a century in all its formats. Former Sri Lankan opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan was the first to achieve this rare feat.

6.    Fourth fastest foreign player to have amassed 2000 runs in the IPL

Du Plessis is one of the highest run-scorers amongst the overseas cricketers in the IPL. In fact, he is the fourth fastest overseas cricketer to have amassed 2000 runs in the Indian franchise extravaganza with the feat coming in 67 innings.