IPL playerSouth Africa2012 to 2025
Faf du Plessis
On scorecards: F du Plessis · Right-hand bat
Faf du Plessis, a batter, played thirteen IPL seasons for four franchises. Two titles came along the way.
The arrival
Faf du Plessis's first IPL season was 2012, with Chennai Super Kings, a signing made outside the auction.
That first season brought 12 matches and 398 runs.
The peak
The high point with the bat was 2023, for Royal Challengers Bangalore: 730 runs at an average of 56.2, striking at 153.7 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 141.9, with 8 fifties, and a highest score of 84. It came in a season as captain. There were five seasons of 400 runs or more in all (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024).
Franchise by franchise
2012 to 2015, Chennai Super Kings. 44 matches and 1,081 runs.
2016 to 2017, Rising Pune Supergiants. Arrived outside the auction. 8 matches and 214 runs.
2018 to 2021, Chennai Super Kings, second time round. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹1.60 cr. 47 matches and 1,640 runs; champions in 2018 and 2021.
2022 to 2024, Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bought at the 2022 auction for ₹7 cr. 45 matches and 1,636 runs; captain in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
2025, Delhi Capitals. Bought at the 2025 auction for ₹2 cr. 10 matches and 202 runs.
5 spells with four franchises in all. The longest was with Chennai Super Kings, 2012 to 2015. 2013 is missing from the record: a season without an IPL appearance.
How the runs came
Across the career, Faf du Plessis struck at 135.8. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 134.8, so the scoring rate tracked the league's almost exactly. 59% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 440 fours and 174 sixes.
The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 34% of the balls Faf du Plessis faced were dot balls, a lower share than 72% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 20.2 balls, and a four every 8.
The fielding record: 86 catches and 5 run-outs.
At the auction
Faf du Plessis went under the hammer five times. The highest price was ₹7 cr, paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2022, more than 3 times the base price. The price climbed with the reputation: ₹54 lakh in 2011, ₹2 cr by 2025. Being bought did not always mean playing: no match followed for Chennai Super Kings in 2011.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
The legacy
On the all-time IPL lists, among 810 players, Faf du Plessis finished 14th for runs.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chennai Super Kings | 12 | 398 | 73 | 33.2 | 130.9 | 3/0 | 0 | 16.00 | - | 4 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Chennai Super Kings | 15 | 303 | 54* | 27.5 | 128.9 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 13 | ||
| 2015 | Chennai Super Kings | 17 | 380 | 55 | 29.2 | 125.0 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 8 | ||
| 2016 | Rising Pune Supergiants | 6 | 206 | 69 | 34.3 | 127.2 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 4 | ||
| 2017 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8.0 | 114.3 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 0 | ||
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings | 6 | 162 | 67* | 32.4 | 125.6 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | Champions |
| 2019 | Chennai Super Kings | 12 | 396 | 96 | 36.0 | 123.4 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 12 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Chennai Super Kings | 13 | 449 | 87* | 40.8 | 140.8 | 4/0 | – | – | – | 12 | ||
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings | 16 | 633 | 95* | 45.2 | 138.2 | 6/0 | – | – | – | 12 | 2 | Champions |
| 2022 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 468 | 96 | 31.2 | 127.5 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | Captain |
| 2023 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 730 | 84 | 56.2 | 153.7 | 8/0 | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | Captain |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 15 | 438 | 64 | 29.2 | 161.6 | 4/0 | – | – | – | 8 | 1 | Captain |
| 2025 | Delhi Capitals | 10 | 202 | 62 | 22.4 | 123.9 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 4 |
Franchise journey
- Chennai Super Kings: 2012 to 2015
- Rising Pune Supergiants: 2016 to 2017
- Chennai Super Kings: 2018 to 2021
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2022 to 2024
- Delhi Capitals: 2025
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 34% |
| Balls per four | 8 |
| Balls per six | 20.2 |
| Dot balls bowled | 0% |
| Balls per wicket | 6 |
| Catches | 86 |
| Run-outs | 5 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | – | ₹9 lakh | Sold to Chennai Super Kings for ₹54 lakh (US$120k) |
| 2014 | M2 | ₹1.50 cr | Sold to Chennai Super Kings for ₹4.75 cr |
| 2018 | M1 | ₹1.50 cr | Sold to Chennai Super Kings for ₹1.60 cr |
| 2022 | M | ₹2 cr | Sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹7 cr |
| 2025 | BA2 | ₹2 cr | Sold to Delhi Capitals for ₹2 cr |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet