Faf du Plessis: RPS dressing room was shocked when Dhoni lost captaincy to Smith in 2017 IPL
Synopsis
Faf du Plessis has broken his silence on one of IPL's most jarring off-field calls: Sanjiv Goenka's decision to remove MS Dhoni as RPS captain and hand the armband to a then-inexperienced Steve Smith. The result? Smith took Pune to within one run of the title — and du Plessis says they should have won it.
Key Takeaways
Faf du Plessis confirmed the Rising Pune Supergiants dressing room was 'shocked' when MS Dhoni was replaced as captain ahead of the 2017 IPL .
The captaincy change was made by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka following poor results in the 2016 IPL season.
Steve Smith took over the captaincy early in his leadership career and guided RPS to the 2017 IPL final .
RPS lost the final to Mumbai Indians by just one run — one of the tightest finishes in IPL history.
After RPS was disbanded in 2018 , Dhoni returned to CSK and won IPL titles in 2018 , 2021 , and 2023 .
Goenka now owns Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) , one of the ten current IPL franchises.
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has revealed that the entire Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) dressing room was left stunned when MS Dhoni was stripped of the team's captaincy and replaced by Australian batter Steve Smith ahead of the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Du Plessis, who was part of the squad at the time, made the disclosure on Cricinfo's 'Cricketers on Cricketers' show.
The Decision That Shook the Dressing Room
According to du Plessis, the move — made by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka following a run of poor results in the 2016 IPL season — caught every player off guard. 'MS Dhoni was removed as captain of Rising Pune Supergiants after the end of the 2016 IPL season, and that's the biggest move you can make in a tournament of that stature. We hadn't won a couple of games, and the owner at the time made the decision to change the captain. Everyone was shocked after that call,' du Plessis said.
The situation carried an unusual dynamic: Dhoni, one of the most decorated captains in cricket history, now found himself playing under a much less experienced leader. 'It was tough having MS Dhoni as your number two there, especially after he'd just been removed as captain,' du Plessis recalled.
Smith's Leadership Under the Spotlight
Smith was relatively early in his Australian captaincy career when he took the RPS armband, yet du Plessis was quick to credit him for rising to the challenge. 'Steve Smith was the new captain. That was pretty early on in his leadership career. He wasn't experienced, but he did a good job,' du Plessis said.
Smith guided Rising Pune Supergiants all the way to the 2017 IPL final, where they fell agonisingly short against Mumbai Indians by just one run — one of the closest finishes in IPL history. 'Smith led the team to the final, and we lost that final, which we should have won. We were that close. Winning that final would have made Smith an IPL-winning captain in just one season of captaincy. That says a lot about him,' du Plessis noted.
The Backstory: Why RPS Existed at All
Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were introduced as temporary franchises for two IPL seasons — 2016 and 2017 — after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) over their officials' involvement in illegal betting linked to the 2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal. Both stand-in franchises were disbanded once CSK and RR returned to the league in 2018.
What Happened After RPS Was Wound Up
Following the dissolution of RPS, MS Dhoni returned to lead Chennai Super Kings and went on to deliver IPL title wins in 2018, 2021, and 2023 — further cementing his legacy as the most successful captain in the tournament's history. Sanjiv Goenka, meanwhile, re-entered the IPL landscape as the owner of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of the ten franchises currently competing in the league.
Du Plessis's recollection adds a rare first-hand perspective to one of the more controversial off-field decisions in IPL history, and underscores just how close Smith came to winning a title in his very first full season as a franchise captain.
Point of View
Untested as a franchise leader, dragged that disoriented dressing room to within one run of a title. The episode is a study in how franchise cricket can override cricketing logic, and how players sometimes exceed the circumstances thrust upon them. For Dhoni, who would go on to win three more IPL titles with CSK, the episode is a footnote. For Smith, it remains perhaps the most underrated chapter of his leadership story.
NationPress
28 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was MS Dhoni removed as Rising Pune Supergiants captain?
MS Dhoni was removed as RPS captain after the 2016 IPL season by franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka, reportedly following a run of poor results. Steve Smith was appointed as his replacement ahead of the 2017 season.
Who replaced MS Dhoni as RPS captain in the 2017 IPL?
Australian batter Steve Smith replaced MS Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants for the 2017 IPL season. Smith was relatively early in his leadership career at the time but guided the team all the way to the final.
How did Rising Pune Supergiants perform under Steve Smith in 2017?
Rising Pune Supergiants reached the 2017 IPL final under Steve Smith but lost to Mumbai Indians by just one run. It was the closest possible defeat and also the franchise's last match before it was disbanded in 2018.
What happened to Rising Pune Supergiants after 2017?
RPS was disbanded in 2018 when Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — whose suspensions had created the need for stand-in franchises — returned to the IPL. Dhoni then rejoined CSK and won IPL titles in 2018, 2021, and 2023.
Where did Faf du Plessis reveal these details about the RPS captaincy change?
Faf du Plessis made these revelations on Cricinfo's 'Cricketers on Cricketers' show, offering a rare first-hand account of the mood inside the RPS dressing room when the captaincy change was announced.
