After much speculation, Royal Challengers Bangalore have finally appointed Faf du Plessis, the former South Africa skipper, as their new captain.  Du Plessis takes over from Virat Kohli, who relinquished Royal Challengers' captaincy at the end of the last season."I can't be happier for the team and Faf. He is a good friend and we get along very well. Looking forward to a good season," said Kohli, the outgoing captain.Du Plessis has played 100 matches (93 innings) so far in the IPL, scoring 2935 runs at an average of 34.94 and a strike rate of 131.08, with 22 half-centuries. In the last four seasons of the IPL, he has scored 1640 runs in 47 innings, with 633 of those runs coming in 2021.

Du Plessis will become the seventh to captain the Royal Challengers, with Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, Kohli and Shane Watson having led the team previously. Among them, Kohli has captained the side in most matches - 140 matches with 64 wins, 69 losses, three ties and four no results, with a win percentage of 48.16.While this will be Du Plessis's first captaincy assignment in the IPL, he has led several teams in the T20 format, including South Africa and World XI in international cricket. Comilla Victorians, Paarl Rocks, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and St Lucia Kings are the other teams that Du Plessis has led in T20s. He has been the T20 captain in 79 matches previously, with 43 wins, 34 losses, one tie and one no result, with a win percentage of 55.76.