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Du Plessis: 'Dhoni is the only man who can lead CSK'

Du Plessis: 'Dhoni is the only man who can lead CSK'

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s historic achievements with India ensure there is no fight for power at Chennai Super Kings despite their star-studded squad boasting three other international captains, according to Faf du Plessis.

CSK are the only team in the Indian Premier League to boast such a high number of top-level skippers.

Du Plessis, 29, is currently the focal point for South Africa’s Twenty20 side, Dwayne Bravo fulfils the same role for West Indies’ one-day international squad and Brendon McCullum guides New Zealand in all three forms of the game.

Chennai though have suffered a big blow to their chances as Bravo has been ruled out of the IPL with a shoulder injury.

Dhoni has emerged as an iconic figure in the annals of Indian cricket, winning a record number of Test matches as captain as well as one of each 50-over World Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy events.

Such success has ensured the 32-year-old is the first among equals in the dressing room.

“Although we are captains of our national team, there is only one captain for Chennai and that is MS,” Du Plessis said. “We completely sit back and let him run the show.

“We joked about it before the opening game, as we have four international captains in the squad. It is nice as we have all kinds of experiences but we are just all there to support MS.

“He is a strong enough leader to ask when he needs assistance. He is probably the most successful captain in the history of the game, so we are all learning from him as captains, which is nice to have in our environment. We have a huge amount of respect for him.”

Chennai recovered from a dispiriting six-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab in their opening fixture, to pummel a ramshackle Delhi Daredevils on Monday.

Stephen Fleming’s side are next in action today, when they make their Dubai debut against Rajasthan Royals.

Du Plessis did not manage to bat in the loss to Kings XI, but claimed a couple of exceptional catches in the following fixture.

He is also one of the few cricketers in the CSK squad to boast recent experience in the UAE, after featuring in the series against Pakistan held in the Emirates last winter.

The South African believed it was now a level playing field in regards to knowledge about the pitches, with all teams ensconced in the Middle East for at least a week.

He said: “There was a little bit of chat about the conditions before the tournament started, but I think now that we have played a few games the teams have better information.

“Also, the wickets have played different at different times. The day games are different to the night games, so we’ve seen what the conditions are like and we can prepare accordingly.”


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