Chennai batsman Faf du Plessis has credited his team’s success in the Indian T20 League to captain MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming, stating that the trophy-laden tenure has only been made possible due to the clever recruitment strategy of bringing in international captains who can contribute strategically.
"A great thing that Chennai has done over the years, and that's credit to MS and (Stephen) Fleming the coach, is they have targeted captains — (Brendon) McCullum, myself, (Dwayne) Bravo, obviously MS, (Suresh) Raina's captained a bit — because they want thinking cricketers," the 35-year-old told Chennai's website.
"So, there's a lot of leaders within the group, that experience of thinking cricketers is what they want and obviously it has proven to be very successful," he added.
Read | Don't write off Dhoni, he still has plenty to offer: Hussain
Speaking about the tournament, the former South African captain said that the competition has become a huge part of players’ lives.
“There are more serious thing in life than sports, I get it, but for us players and fans, Indian T20 League has become such an integral part of our season. Every year you know, for the last 10 (eight) years, I have been involved with Indian T20 League. It has become a huge part of my life. We love to play. It is the pinnacle of playing with different players,” he said.
“The difference with Indian T20 League is that you get to play with so many players that you play against all the time and make some new friendships.”.
The 13th edition of the Indian T20 League was, on Wednesday, postponed indefinitely after the nationwide lockdown due to the global pandemic being extended until May 3. The tournament was initially scheduled to start on March 29 before it was pushed back to April 15 due to the pandemic.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Sheshadri Sukumar
