Alright folks, let me walk you through how I tackled this whole Faf du Plessis retirement chatter thing. Saw the headline floating around about IPL 2023 retirement talk and honestly, my mind went sideways for a sec. Faf? Quitting? After all he’s still doing? Had to dig in myself.
Starting Point: The Rumor Mill
First thing I did, like anyone else these days, was hit up a few big cricket news sites. Typed in “Faf du Plessis retirement 2023” expecting maybe an official statement or some breaking news. Zilch. Nada. Weird. Just fan forums and some tweets speculating.
So I switched gears. Searched for his name straight up, filtering for the latest stuff, maybe a month back? Bam. Found articles talking about him playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025. Wait, what? IPL 2025? That’s this year! Like, right now. Headlines were all about his fifties, him being picked for key matches… not retiring.
Looking Deeper: The Numbers Game
Felt like doing some half-assed internet detective work. Clicked through a few more pieces. Found this crazy stat: dude hit a fifty just this season at 40 years and 290 days old. Third oldest to ever do that in the whole IPL! And the articles were talking about his fitness like he’s some kind of cyborg. “Meticulous fitness regime”? “Unwavering dedication”? Doesn’t sound like someone packing it in.
Scrolled further. Kept seeing his name pop up playing. Actual games. For Delhi Capitals. Mentioned as this “seasoned campaigner”, bringing “invaluable expertise”. Like, right now. In 2025. Totally contradicts the 2023 retirement idea.
Connecting Dots: The Freelancer Life
Then I remembered something from earlier. Read an article a while back, maybe March? It mentioned Faf hasn’t played for South Africa since 2020. Interesting. It said he’s embraced this “freelancing career“. So basically, he picks and chooses leagues, focuses on T20 stuff. IPL is probably the big one for him.
This clicked. He’s not following the “retire from internationals, then slowly fade” path. Nah. He’s this elite specialist gun-for-hire in the T20 world. And the pieces were all talking about how well it’s working for him – maintaining high fitness and crazy competitive drive even at 40. Guys like Marcus Stoinis supposedly look at Faf as a blueprint for sticking around in T20s.
The “Retirement” Talk Reality Check
Honestly, after pulling all this together? Feels like that “IPL 2023 retirement” talk was either:
- Pure clickbait garbage someone floated ages ago, or
- Massive speculation based on nothing concrete.
The real story seems to be the exact opposite. Dude is still out there in IPL 2025, leading DC’s batting sometimes, breaking age records, and showing young guns how it’s done. He’s built this successful T20 freelancer gig and is riding it hard.
Makes me think any talk about him quitting is nonsense until he says something. Or until he stops showing up on team sheets and smashing fifties. Which clearly ain’t happening yet. Ended up learning way more about his current hustle than I expected!
