Faf du Plessis Says MS Dhoni’s Instinct Was His Superpower

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has described MS Dhoni’s ability to read a match in real time as the former Chennai Super Kings captain’s defining leadership strength. Reflecting on their time together at the IPL franchise, du Plessis said Dhoni’s calm and instinctive decision-making was a quality he wants to bring into his own captaincy.

Du Plessis spent nine seasons with Chennai Super Kings before joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2022. Across his IPL career, he has played 154 matches and scored 4,773 runs, while his spell with Chennai included three IPL title wins under Dhoni’s leadership.

Du Plessis highlights Dhoni’s on-field instincts

Speaking on the Prakhar Gupta Podcast, du Plessis said Dhoni did not place heavy emphasis on detailed plans before a match. Instead, he relied on his understanding of the situation as it developed on the field.

“This guy has an incredible understanding of the game on the field. He doesn’t like to plan too much beforehand and prefers to be instinctive during the match. That was his superpower,” du Plessis said.

According to du Plessis, Dhoni’s approach was built around reading both the game and the players involved while remaining composed. That ability to assess changing circumstances without losing calm stood out to the former South Africa captain during their years together at Chennai Super Kings.

“He would read the game and the players while staying remarkably calm, as everyone knows he is a very composed person. That’s something I want to take from him and apply to my own captaincy,” du Plessis added.

The comments underline the importance du Plessis places on adaptability in leadership. Rather than presenting Dhoni’s success as a product of fixed pre-match preparation, he pointed to the value of responding to the conditions and moments that emerge during a game.

For du Plessis, the period at Chennai was a significant part of his IPL career. The franchise won three titles during his nine seasons there, with Dhoni leading the side. Du Plessis later moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2022, but his remarks showed the lasting influence of his experience under Dhoni.

A leadership lesson from Chennai Super Kings

Du Plessis’s assessment focused on a specific aspect of Dhoni’s captaincy: the capacity to make calls based on what is unfolding rather than being tied to an earlier plan. He described that flexibility, combined with composure, as Dhoni’s “superpower.”

The former South Africa captain has spoken about taking that lesson into his own leadership. His account offers a direct view of what he observed inside the Chennai Super Kings setup: a captain who trusted his reading of players and the match situation, while maintaining a calm presence.

Dhoni’s standing in the IPL has long been connected to his leadership at Chennai Super Kings, and du Plessis’s comments add the perspective of a player who spent nine seasons working under him. The South African said the instinctive, measured approach he saw from Dhoni is one he hopes to apply in his own captaincy.