'He is the villain of the story…', this is what Faf du Plessis said about Gautam Gambhir

New Delhi. Former South African captain Faf du Plessis praised Gautam Gambhir's fierce competition and said that because of this he sometimes becomes the 'villain of the story', but this attitude has been the biggest weapon for his teams. Du Plessis said that this specialty of Gambhir makes a team like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) strong. Under Gambhir's captaincy, KKR won the IPL in 2012 and 2014, and under his guidance as a mentor, the team became champion for the third time in 2024. Now as a coach, he has led the Indian team to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and this year's T20 World Cup.

Du Plessis told GeoHotstar, 'My perspective on Gambhir is different from that of the players who play with him. When playing against him, he is always the villain of the story, but you respect him. He said, 'The biggest specialty of Gautam Gambhir is that he is very competitive. They don't care whether someone likes them or not. As a leader, his job is to set high standards and maintain accountability in the dressing room.

According to Du Plessis, Gambhir brings high standards and accountability to any dressing room, which also becomes an inspiration for the opposing captain. He said, 'As a captain, when you play against him, you want to beat him because of his personality, but at the same time you also respect him that he sets such high standards.' He said, 'This is what good captains do and Gambhir has shown this right from the beginning of his career. If we look at his record, we have to admit that from the leadership point of view, KKR was a strong team in his presence.

Du Plessis, who has captained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), said that leadership in franchise cricket is not limited to the captain alone. He said, 'People often think of the captain when they talk about leadership in a team. Yes, the role of captain is important, but for me it starts at the top. This includes the franchise owner, coach and the leadership group within the team. He said, 'When you look at successful teams like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and KKR, there are combinations like Shreyas Iyer with Gautam, or (Stephen) Fleming with (MS) Dhoni.

Last year, RCB also had strong leadership in the form of Andy Flower and Mo Bobt, while the captain (Rajat Patidar) had the experience of captaincy for the first time in the IPL. The 41-year-old former player also stressed the need for strong coordination between the captain and the coach for the success of the team. He said, 'If you have a strong captain, then a lot of responsibility rests on him because he takes the team forward. But if the captain is not that strong, then a strong coach takes the responsibility. I believe this is where Gambhir proved to be very effective.