Faf du Plessis: Captain, Competitor, Co-Owner

There are cricketers who announce themselves. Faf du Plessis announced himself by refusing to lose. A batsman of rare temperament, a captain of fierce conviction and a fielder who redefined what was possible in the modern game, Du Plessis spent nearly a decade as the backbone of Proteas cricket across all three formats.

He announced himself to the world in November 2012 with a debut innings for the ages, spending more than seven and a half hours at the crease at the Adelaide Oval to make an unbeaten 110 in 176 balls, dragging South Africa to an unlikely draw against Australia and setting up a series win. It was a performance that told you everything about who he was: immovable under pressure, selfless in service of the team.

He made 69 Test appearances for South Africa, scoring 4,163 runs at an average of 40.02, with 10 centuries and 21 half-centuries. In ODI cricket, he played 143 matches and scored 5,507. He became the first South African to score centuries in all three formats of the game, and holds the record for the most innings played before registering a duck in international cricket, going 108 innings before the milestone was reached.

When he retired from Test cricket in February 2021, it was not to step away from the game. It was to chase a new chapter of it.

In franchise cricket, Du Plessis won two T20 titles with the Chennai franchise in 2018 and 2021. He subsequently then went onto captain the Bengaluru outfit. His consistency and experience soon made him one of the most in-demand franchise players on the global T20 circuit. Wherever he went, he led.

Now, Du Plessis is building something of his own.

In 2026, he joined forces with fellow South Africans Jonty Rhodes and Heinrich Klaasen to co-own the Rotterdam franchise in the ETPL, Europe's first ICC-sanctioned T20 league. 

Du Plessis will not only co-own the team but captain it, with Klaasen also playing alongside him in the inaugural season. For a man who has spent his career at the intersection of elite performance and thoughtful leadership, Rotterdam is the next natural step.

Europe is cricket's next frontier. Faf du Plessis is not just backing it. He is playing and building it.