Rassie van der Dussen heaps high praise on former Proteas skipper

South African middle-order batsman Rassie van der Dussen has heaped high praise on former Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis, stating that the latter's appointment as RCB's skipper has added' a whole new year dynamic' to the franchise.

Du Plessis, who played a stellar role in the title-winning campaign of the Chennai Super Kings last year, was picked by the Challengers for a sum of Rs 7 Crores in the mega-auction.

He was later appointed skipper of the franchise, and while the veteran opener hasn't yet fired up all cylinders with the bat, he has got off to a brilliant start as skipper.

RCB has won two out of their first three games, and Van der Dussen, a part of the Royals' set-up, feels that the Bangalore franchise will become even more challenging to beat when Glenn Maxwell joins the set-up.

In an exclusive conversation with Charbel Coorey on cricblog.net, Rassie said, "Faf adds a whole different dynamic to RCB. If you include Maxwell, who is going to come in for them, they are a pretty solid all-around team. Last night [vs Royals], for example, they didn't even use their sixth bowler, so they're a team that looks pretty strong."

With so much talent spread across ten teams, the race for playoffs is quite open, and any side can beat anyone on a given day, feels Rassie.

Alluding to his own team's defeat to the Royal Challengers the other night, the Proteas batsman said, "That's the beauty of the IPL. Every match has match-winners scattered throughout. It keeps you on edge; you can never count yourself in or out.

Last night [April 5], we were in a very good position; eight out of 10 times, you probably think we're winning that match, but then Shahbaz and Dinesh Karthik came in and played those innings. They played, and they ended up winning the game."

The Royals have won two of their first three games so far and will take on Lucknow on April 10. RCB, on the other hand, will lock horns with the Mumbai Indians in Pune on Saturday.

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