Plessis loved to walk through fire

Many years back when I was young,
I had this dream now for long,
To wear the Green & Gold,
The Protea Fire, Fire

Unhilo Whalala Utshisa
Unhilo Whalala Utshisa
Unhilo Whalala Utshisa

Faf Du Plessis sang this cricket anthem when he joined the Proteas (read South African cricket team). It was in 2011, the year India won the ICC World Cup defeating Sri Lanka in the finals in Mumbai. AB de Villers, the skipper of the side and a songwriter, Ampie du Preez, came up with a new song that was titled The Fire Is Always Burning. Songs and taglines occasionally work for cricket teams. India had one when it went to Australia in the fall of 2003, it was called Now or Never.

So, what is the cricketer doing now? Texas Super Kings, a Major League Cricket franchise, is captained by Faf Du Plessis, a former Chennai Super Kings player. The Major League Cricket (MLC) is a six-team event, scheduled to be played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas. I do not wish to discuss this masala tournament. I was only referring to his relevance to world cricket and will revert immediately to the book that is all about Faf Du Plessis – we will call him Du Plessis the next time – and I have seen this brilliant cricketer from fairly close quarters because of some interesting connections I had with the Proteas since 2003.

When he started his life from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, many felt a rising star had come to rule the 22 yards. But one needs to remember cricket and everything associated with it is just a bloody backdrop in Du Plessis’ story. It is much more than cricket, it is about his life and the way he invested it in South African cricket, both on and off the field.

So, what filled the life of Du Plessis? He has opened up his heart, mind, soul, leadership, relationships and culture that helped him shape his experiences with the cricketers and those managing cricket in South Africa. Remember he had a troubled life as a youngster because his parents had divorced. Was this the reason for his frequent indiscretions in personal life? His mother was sensitive but his father was rude and arrogant, actually uncompromising. Probably yes, but this is not the right blackboard to write those lines. Imari, his wife, helped him create life’s biggest bridge and taught him how to balance it with some value-driven approach. The book says the values did wonders with Du Plessis.

His longstanding commitment to representing South Africa flows throughout the book. He chose his marbles carefully, even turning down a lucrative Kolpak deal that would enable him to play for England, right to the end of his international career when he tried to work with the South Africa national team to find a way for him to play the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021. And once he walked into the team, he remembered how to respect everyone. It was a team culture that was pushed into the Proteas by Richard Pybus, who ensured that all players were treated equally.
But it was not roses all the way for Du Plessis.

He talks about the incident at Eastern Titans dressing room when South African batsman Daryll Cullinan – Du Plessis thought him as his God – snapped at him and told him to just shut up. Du Plessis writes with a lot of pain and anguish: “I took my kit and went to sit next to him,” he writes. “He turned to me: ‘What the f**k are you doing next to me? Why the f**k are you sitting next to me? Youngster, take your bag and f**k off! Jacques Rudolph is a Test player, but not even he is sitting next to me. He’s sitting on a chair, but you’re sitting on a f**king bench.’ I hung my head in shame. In a matter of moments, my childhood idol went from hero to zero in my eyes. On that day, I undertook never to speak or behave to anyone the way he had just done towards me, and I kept that promise when I became Proteas captain.”

Du Plessis emerged from that insult to become one of South Africa’s most dependable batsmen. The book makes it clear that the batsman remembered everything, especially his relationship with AB de Villiers that crashed like bone China just before the 2019 World Cup when skipper du Plessis ignored the obvious match-winner’s desire to return to the side.

But Du Plessis remembers to give both value and respect to those who helped him. He starts with his wife Imari, and then prominently mentions Paddy Upton, former mental conditioning coach of the Indian team, Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach who shaped the Blue Billion Express’s climb to the No. 1 Test ranking as well as the 2011 World Cup title, Doc Moosajee, the long-standing manager of the South African cricket team, de Villiers himself, Chennai Super Kings big bucks skipper MS Dhoni and Owen Eastwood, the New Zealand-born performance. And his teammates at Royal Challengers Bangalore, who he has captained for the last two seasons.

Du Plessis is brutally honest in the book, he does not hide anything. He distinctly remembers who he got into trouble with the game’s organisers. He once rubbed the ball against his trouser zipper in the UAE. Instantly, zippers were banned. And then he applied some sugary syrup from his mouth to the ball in Australia. Now, those days saliva was traditionally used to polish the ball but Du Plessis was not that lucky, he ended up losing 100 percent of his match fees and earning three demerit points.

Du Plessis featured in three series for South Africa after relinquishing the captaincy. But that is a different story, perhaps another book from a person considered to be the last in the golden generation of Proteas.

What a lovely book, what a wonderful read.