Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have named Faf du Plessis as captain ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL 2022) season. The former South Africa skipper is replacing Virat Kohli as captain of the team, with the latter having stepped down from the role after the IPL 2021 season. South Africa batter Du Plessis was acquired by RCB for Rs 7 crore in the IPL 2022 auction last month. The Proteas star represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last season and was a crucial member as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final.

A player with a lot of experience, Du Plessis will be a pivotal figure for the franchise in the upcoming season and was recently backed by RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson.

“We see him as a highly experienced player at the top of the order. It allows us to look at how we balance our side,” Hesson said in a video posted on RCB’s social media handles last month.

“He is also a really important leader in the group so really delighted to have him”, he further added.

Meanwhile, Kohli recently explained his decision to quit as captain of both RCB and Team India in an episode of The RCB Podcast.

“I’m not someone who holds onto things more than I should. Even if I know I can do a lot more, if I’m not going to enjoy the process, I’m not going to do it,” he said.

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“Because it’s very difficult for people to understand your decisions unless they are in your situation. From the outside, people have their own expectations ‘Oh! How did that happen? We are so shocked’,” added Kohli, who recently played his 100th Test match for India.

“There’s nothing to be shocked about. I explain to people, I wanted some space and I wanted to manage my workload and the story ends there.”