RCB Bold diaries: What Captain Faf du Plessis had to say ahead of the South Indian derby

It’s derby day. RCB against CSK, red against yellow, the rivalry that the two teams have built over the last 14 years makes it one that grabs all the eyeballs. Add to that, RCB’s captain Faf du Plessis has seen the game from the other side for almost a decade, it adds another layer of intrigue to the story.

Is there pressure on the players that it’s such a massive game? Captain Faf du Plessis who has been a part of both camps said, “No, we’re obviously playing some nice cricket at the moment, so we’ve got a bit of form going into the match. But we also know that Chennai are a team that you can never write off. They’ve got some incredible cricketers there, So, it’s going to be a great game, and I’m looking forward to that tomorrow. Hazlewood has joined us, it’s nice for him as well; it’s his first game back, and he’s also playing against his old team.” 

Speaking of Josh Hazlewood, the big Australian fast bowler who has joined the camp was seen having an extended conversation with the captain and the coaches. What was that about? “We have conversations with every single player in the team, just to be clear on what we expect from them, from an overall point of view, from the team dynamics, from the environment, from the culture; just making everyone feel a part of the journey,” revealed Faf du Plessis. “And I think players enjoy that there’s communication always. I’m a big believer in over-communicating so people know exactly where they stand, what they need to do, what they’re doing well, what they need to improve on; communication for me is always really important.” 

Having been in the Chennai dressing room for a long time, does it make it easy for Captain Faf du Plessis to captain against them, knowing the players at CSK inside out? “In theory, yes because you know the players well. But the flip side is they also know me, they know my game very well as well. There’s that balance I suppose. But, yes, it helps to know a little bit more about player strengths, areas that you can hopefully try and see as a little bit of a weakness. It’s two strong teams competing tomorrow, looking forward to it,” he concluded.