Visakhapatnam: South African veteran Faf du Plessis announced he had “a lot of life left” as a franchisee, but said his latest IPL move would be the last chapter of his career.
The 40-year-old opener beat the Lucknow Super Giants to a win in a Monday night thriller, scoring 29 from 18 goals.
Du Plessis led Royal Challenger Bengaluru for three years until the end of last season, when he joined Delhi after a player auction in November and was appointed deputy deputy Axar Patel.
Du Plessis won two IPL titles with the Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2021, but due to a new challenge that is still looking for their first title in the T20 Championship.
“The old dog left a lot of lives,” Du Plessis told commentator and former England player Graeme Swann after his nails win in Delhi.
He added: “New team, a new challenge for me. I almost see it as a new chapter you can expect.”
“Moving from Chennai to RCB was a very nice chapter. Now, the last chapter of the book, because the pages can be long, the new team will be with the new team.”
Du Plessis is one of the top rosters for players over 40 and performs well in money-making games.
Chennai idol MS Dhoni remains a key player on his 43-year-old team and said: “Even if I’m in a wheelchair, they’ll take me away”.
Indian stars Virat Kohli (Bangaluru) and Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indian) also violated age and critics’ continued competition in 36 and 37 years respectively.
Delhi swayed in a chase on Monday before striking replacement Ashutosh Sharma saved them from 65-5 and unbeaten with 31-ball 66.
The Impact Player rules were introduced in the 2023 IPL, which shocked critics who said it made the format too batting.
The rule allows players to be replaced at any time with the starter 11, and most teams switch bowlers to batsmen and refuel, and go over 200 times with 200.
“A lot of cricketers, they complain about the new rules in the IPL,” Dupresis said.
“That’s why the new rules are there, when you think the game is dead and buried, someone comes.”
