Just think of this situation in a company. A new CEO follows the policy of talking to the senior management team to ask what they would do if they were the CEO and what would they like to have to ensure their teams work better. Sounds utopic? Yes, this rarely happens in the corporate world where CEOs assume they know the best. But this is a strange unintended message that leaders can take when they read cricketer Faf Du Plessis’ autobiography.
Faf Du Plessis has been a regular in successive IPL tournaments, being a part of the Chennai franchise for long and now captain of the Bangalore team. He is known to be an effective captain who can bat very well, opening the innings and also scoring fast.
Du Plessis pens a very honest autobiography, which is rare given that in sports it is hard for anyone to admit that they ever did anything wrong. But he is forthright and talks of the ‘zipgate’ and ‘mint gate’ controversies where he was involved. He does not say that he did not do anything wrong but admits that he did rub the ball against the zip of his trousers and applied saliva laden with mint on the ball to provide the shine for a reverse swing. This is done by all cricketers, but obviously those who get caught are the ones who make the headlines. His Christian upbringing brought in a lot of criticism from his family for which he was apologetic. We do not hear something like this from our cricketers even when they are pulled up by foreign referees for supposed wrongdoing. We always tend to attribute it to biases towards India, which is now common. That’s why Du Plessis’ narrative stands out.
What strikes the reader the most about his story is the way the South African team has always had to work hard to keep together. Coming out from the racism that typified the country, sports has been used as an equaliser, which has worked to an extent. He highlights the quota system in the team where the selectors guide the composition and hence the best may not always find place in the final squad. This is to maintain political and social harmony.
Du Plessis writes a lot on team building, through which it was ensured that there is a sense of belonging for all players. He writes about how even other captains followed the approach of keeping the team spirit alive by having constant conversations with players. Newcomers are made to feel a part of the team and made to speak in team meetings so that they shared a common purpose. Perhaps he was reminded how he felt let down and humiliated when his hero Darryl Cullinan abused him and asked him not to sit by his side when he was new to the team. Do these things happen in the Indian team? One never knows.
Du Plessis takes us through his upbringing and his fascination for the game since childhood. Playing for the Proteas team was the ultimate dream, and he takes genuine pride in finally reaching the stage of captaining the side. Interestingly, he was a schoolmate of another big star, AB de Villiers, and there was some kind of rivalry between the two. He has great admiration for Graham Smith, who was too big to emulate but was responsible for bringing the team to the big league. The other people who he believes were the leading lights include Hashim Amla who was well respected. AB de Villiers was a superstar who everyone would try to emulate, while everyone agreed that Dale Steyn was the best fast bowler in the world.
Du Plessis has a chapter devoted to the CSK experience, which is quite significant. He admires the owners of the franchise for firmly believing in family values and holding on to them even when it came to team selection. Failure is not shunned and players who are not in form are not left out but persevered with. It was similar to the theme followed by the South African team when the coach and selectors did not ask Du Plessis to drop out when he was not scoring runs. He also points out that the approach of MS Dhoni to captaincy is very different from what happens in South Africa. He was used to having constant team meetings during the match and even before and after the game. He is impressed by Dhoni who does not follow this approach but once on field has everything under control and organised everyone to do what they have to do. This style, alien to the author, has impressed him considerably.
The book can easily pass the test of being one on leadership which is worth pursuing even in the corporate world, while being a must for all sports where teams are involved. As people differ in various fields and backgrounds, it requires a true leader to create a sense of team spirit to deliver on the aspirations and goals of the entity. This may be something that the Indian cricket team should follow, if not already being done, given that there is a lot of talent waiting to be expressed thanks to the IPL.
As a book coming from a cricketer, it is enjoyable and extremely refreshing in content. It is written with honesty and is not pretentious. That makes it an even more compelling read.
Faf Through Fire: An Autobiography
Faf Du Plessis
Penguin Random House
Pp 384, Rs499
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