Faf du Plessis found it tough to find a spot in that CSK XI all season, but from time to time you got this feeling that MS Dhoni wanted to find a way to draft him into the side.
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Dhoni has always fancied du Plessis and his exploits with Chennai over the years have made him believe that he is a very valuable asset.
But in order to get him into that CSK XI, Dhoni had to make the tough decision of sending Ambati Rayudu down the order, despite his brilliant performances at the top of the order for CSK.
However, Dhoni believed that he needed someone of Rayudu’s experience and expertise to bat during the middle overs, where most teams had their spinners in operation.
Sam Billings was tried in the middle order for a few games, but the move didn’t pan out as expected and hence Dhoni went through with du Plessis up top and Rayudu in the middle during the playoff stage.
And the move worked wonders for CSK, as du Plessis ended up winning the qualifier 1 for CSK when all the odds were stacked against him.
du Plessis was thankful for the opportunity of having played for CSK once again and was thrilled for having won the title with CSK.
“Excited to be going home after 7 weeks at the IPL… Was really good being back at CSK this year. What a franchise it has been over the years. Proud to be part of another trophy with CSK.” du Plessis said.
