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 captained Virat Kohli at RCB. (PTI Photo) 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.In a segment with Cricinfo, du Plessis recalled how Kohli made him feel accepted from the very beginning, despite the expectations surrounding RCB and its former captain."There was always respect, but in an instant I felt accepted to step into the shoes," du Plessis said.
THE KOHLI FACTORTaking 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.A FRIENDSHIP FORMEDThe relationship between the two also benefited from a change in their roles.
Du Plessis had previously captained a team while Kohli was leading India and RCB. Now, with the South African taking charge and Kohli operating as a player, they could approach the relationship from a different perspective."At that stage, I was a player coming from captaining someone and then not captaining the team anymore.
So I had this fresh perspective that at least I was on the same level with him, now that he's a player," du Plessis explained.He described Kohli's support as unconditional, adding that their friendship developed almost instantly despite having spent years competing against each other."I had his support, more than unconditional support, from day one. He just had my back all the time," he said."I would say we had always played against each other, but instantly we felt like we had a very, very good friendship.
There's no context here to it. There's no background.
It was just, like, straight away."THE PRICE OF FRIENDSHIPThere was, however, another unexpected consequence of getting close to Kohli. Du Plessis discovered an enthusiasm for luxury watches, and he was quick to credit his former RCB teammate for introducing him to an increasingly expensive obsession."Three years later, I've become the biggest watch guy.
And now everyone is saying to me, how do you spend that much money on a watch?" he said.The South African admitted that Kohli's influence had left a noticeable dent in his finances, joking that the Indian batter had convinced him to buy watches he would otherwise never have considered."So I've said this to him, and I've said this publicly: the most expensive relationship of my life has been him. Because he's made me buy watches that I should have never, ever, ever bought."For du Plessis, the Kohli association brought its share of scrutiny during his RCB captaincy years.
But it also gave him something that made the job easier: the unconditional backing of a former captain who understood the expectations better than anyone.And, apparently, a rather expensive new hobby.- Ends