As teams prepare for the IPL 2026 auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, the spotlight has unexpectedly shifted from potential signings to the big names who won't be part of the season
'I do a lot of hard work to ensure I look after my body to be able to play this brilliant game we love so much.'
While a return to South African national team remains an enticing proposition for him, former captain Faf du Plessis wants to regain his peak fitness and game-touch abefore seriously nourishing such ambitions.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis lit up the M Chinnaswamy stadium as guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a cracking win over Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2023 opener.
That Glenn Maxwell is no longer an attractive commodity in the IPL market was evident across last two seasons (2024 and 2025) where he totalled a lowly 100 runs in 17 games.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
'Who are all batting in pressure situations? The young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik. The big international names, who are supposed to take the pressure, where are they? All are back in the dressing room.'
Following his side's win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) game, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf Du Plessis lauded Virat Kohli for his knock, saying that his stay was important at that playing surface and he is still passionate about the sport.
The former CSK stalwart also noted that Axar Patel's consistency over recent years positions him as a natural leader within the DC core. But the trickier decision, according to Raina, concerns veteran opener Faf du Plessis, who endured a lean run with just 202 runs from nine games.
Andre Russell announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League on Sunday ahead of the mini auction, scheduled for December 16, and will join three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders's coaching staff.
Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers said that he expects Virat Kohli to back Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to stay with the franchise for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
As much as Faf du Plessis finds MS Dhoni's leadership inspirational but when he leads Johannesburg Super Kings in the upcoming SA20, he will go about the job in his own way, with an eye on wearing the Proteas jersey in the T20 World Cup in June.
In case of Madhya Pradesh speedster Avesh, there were no financial penalty as a formal warning was deemed to be enough.
Pacer Yash Dayal kept his cool in a tense final over to seal a 27-run win against Chennai Super Kings and send RCB through to the play-offs.
KKR, CSK to engage in bidding war in IPL mini-auction with big purse in hand
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis couldn't hide his disappointment after the defeat.
Be it a spinner or a pacer, du Plessis had a big score on his mind. With that intent, he hammered the ball all over the park.
Faf du Plessis believes Mahendra Singh Dhoni, among others, helped him mature as a leader
Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plesiss struck attacking half-centuries to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to an easy eight-wicket win over five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Hasaranga then paid the faith shown in him by du Plessis to finish with spectacular figures of 5 for 18, not allowing the SunRisers batters any gift deliveries, stifling them and finally having them all out for 125 and 67 runs short.
The South African couldn't control his laughter as Kohli whispered something in his ears.
Here's a closer look at the standout performances of the DC vs SRH match.
RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar said the team's early exit despite some outstanding performances from Kohli, du Plessis and Siraj was difficult to comprehend.
Both Jaiswal and du Plessis, the leading run-getters in IPL 2023 so far, are in scintillating form. While du Plessis is leading the scoring charts with 576 runs from 11 innings, including six half centuries and a best of 84, Jaiswal is a close second with 575 runs from 12 matches, which includes four fifties and a 124-run knock.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis feels that losing four wickets for 20 runs in the first four overs became his team's undoing.
Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani has expressed confidence in out-of-form batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, predicting he will regain form in upcoming IPL matches.
Santner, Bumrah make my job very easy: Pandya
Narine stars as KKR keep playoff hopes alive with 14-run win over DC
Young Australian opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who made a strong impact in his IPL debut last year, has faced a tough time this season.
Du Plessis, Bangalore's leading scorer this season, fell short of his maiden IPL hundred once again but did not expect to wait too much longer.
Former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has been named the new captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, replacing Indian batter Virat Kohli who stepped down after the 2021 season.
The 36-year-old made the announcement through a statement on Instagram.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2023 after Game 33.
Faf du Plessis will take the baton from RCB's longest standing captain, Virat Kohli who took charge ahead of IPL 2013.
Images from the IPL 2025 match between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to arrest their slump and stay in contention for a play-off berth when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in a crucial IPL match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Shaken by the abrupt suspension of their previous match due to the India-Pakistan conflict, a struggling Delhi Capitals will look to regroup and address bowling concerns when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in a reverse-leg IPL clash in Delhi on Sunday to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Indian superstar Virat Kohli has backed newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar to lead the side for a long time.
