Du Plessis reveals how Virat Kohli had his back at RCB but made life more expensive

Résumé détaillé

Faf du Plessis opens up about Virat Kohli's unconditional support during his RCB captaincy, the pressure of replacing the Indian star and how their friendship turned expensive after Kohli introduced him to his passion for luxury watches.

Faf du Plessis had big shoes to fill when he took over as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain from Virat Kohli in 2022. But if the South African expected the transition to be difficult, he found an unlikely ally in the man he was replacing.

Du Plessis, who led RCB for three seasons between 2022 and 2024, has opened up about the pressure of captaining a franchise with Kohli still in its ranks, the backing he received from the former skipper and how their friendship eventually turned into an expensive affair.

Taking over from Kohli was never going to be a straightforward assignment. The Indian batter had built a formidable connection with RCB supporters, and even after giving up the captaincy, his presence meant that comparisons were never too far away.

Du Plessis admitted that the pressure could be felt almost immediately. A couple of defeats were enough to bring back calls for Kohli to lead the side again, regardless of who was officially in charge.

"Let me tell you as a captain, if you lose two games, not even, if you lose one game for RCB, the whole of Bangalore and the whole of India want Virat Kohli to captain," he said.

"And it's not because they don't like you or me. They just want Virat Kohli to captain. So anything that doesn't happen that's a win comes down to: but Virat Kohli must be captain."

Du Plessis, however, did not view those expectations as something unfair. In fact, he believed that was precisely the kind of scrutiny that came with leading a franchise as popular as RCB. What made the experience manageable was having Kohli's support through the difficult moments.

He acknowledged that handling the constant comparisons would have been considerably harder without that backing.

"Imagine if I didn't have that support, how I would have felt in those three years. It would have been the hardest time to deal with that," he said.

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