IPL 2022: 'Captain fantastic' Faf du Plessis replaces Virat Kohli as RCB skipper

Faf du Plessis will take over the baton as Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) new skipper, the franchise announced on Saturday, via their unbox event. 

The Bengaluru based franchise were due to announce their new captain after Virat Kohli had announced his decision to step down from the top job last year. Kohli, who led RCB from 2013 to 2021 was able to take them all the way into the final in 2016, only to fall short at the last hurdle. 

Du Plessis meanwhile will captain an Indian Premier League side for the first time in his career. Making the announcement official, the franchise shared a small clip of the Proteas ace in the famous RCB shirt. 

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"The Leader of the Pride is here! Captain of RCB Faf du Plessis," read the caption of RCB's post. 

The Leader of the Pride is here!

Captain of RCB, @faf1307!#PlayBold #RCBCaptain #RCBUnbox #ForOur12thMan #UnboxTheBold pic.twitter.com/UfmrHBrZcb

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 12, 2022

Earlier, RCB had spent a whopping INR 7 crore to acquire Du Plessis' services, after fending off fierce bidding from the likes of Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). 

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The Proteas ace had won two IPL titles with CSK, and RCB will be hoping Du Plessis can lead the franchise to their maiden IPL title. 

The Bengaluru based franchise begin their IPL 2022 campaign against Punjab Kings on March 27, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.