The Royal Challengers Bangalore signed former South African cricket team captain Faf du Plessis for INR 7 crore at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. The right-handed batter was a part of the Chennai Super Kings team from 2011 to 2015 and then from 2018 to 2021. In between, he played for the Rising Pune Supergiant team.
In all the seasons of his IPL career, Faf du Plessis played alongside MS Dhoni. But from 2022 onwards, the right-handed batter will share the dressing room with Virat Kohli. It is likely that du Plessis may even captain the side.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, many members of the cricket universe felt that the Chennai Super Kings will go hard for Faf du Plessis and the Royal Challengers Bangalore will target Shreyas Iyer. Aakash Chopra even said that RCB have kept INR 20 crore budget for Iyer.
However, in a mock auction video released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, one can see how the team management planned the signing of du Plessis. They knew CSK would go for him and no one would expect RCB. Here’s what RCB team director Mike Hesson said:
“We would want to go through teams who might look at him. CSK will obviously make a bid, no one will expect us in terms of who we are likely to go for.”
Chennai Super Kings pulled out after price of Faf du Plessis crossed 3.2 crore
Like Royal Challengers Bangalore planned, the Chennai Super Kings showed interest in signing du Plessis. Previously, CSK managed to sign him cheaply, but this time, they faced competition from Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals.
CSK submitted a bid of 3.2 crore and then opted out. RCB and DC fought for du Plessis before the Bangalore-based franchise signed him for INR 7 crore. Fans should note that this is the biggest contract for du Plessis in his IPL career.
