Faf du Plessis’s Urdu Tattoo – Explained!

Several athletes from different sports are seen sporting tattoos on different parts of their bodies, such as Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, David Beckham, Lebron James, etc. Cricketing legend Faf du Plessis is no exception either.

Faf du Plessis is a right-handed South African batsman and former captain of the South African team. He plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

He has several tattoos on his body, all dedicated to the different stories of his life. One that fascinates fans most is an Urdu tattoo on the side of his ribs. The tattoo reads “Fazal” in Urdu which translates to “Grace” as he believes his life has immensely changed due to the grace of god.

He has many other tattoos such as a quarter sleeve on his arm which describes all the significant events in his life. He has one on the inside of his arm. It refers to the day he made his debut for South Africa and above that ‘A day from the Lord’ is written in Latin. (“Dies a Domino XVII I MMXI”)

On the side he has a compass directed towards the Adelaide Oval, the special occasion where he made his Test debut. It also has the dates of his marriage and the day he was baptized. Above that “Agape” is written which means unconditional love.

Faf had a dream test debut in November 2012 at the Adelaide Oval. He scored 78 runs in the first innings and stood unbeaten scoring 110 runs in 376 balls. He was rightfully appreciated for standing and batting there for 466 minutes on his very first test match!

He was offered a Kolpak deal by Nottingham Shire when he was 21 years old. The deal said that he would have to play for England if he accepts the offer. Faf turned down the offer due to his dream of playing for the South African team.