Faf recalls nasty first encounter with boyhood hero Cullinan: 'Take your bag and sit in the bath'

Former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis slammed former Proteas batter, Daryll Cullinan, for treating him badly as a youngster in his soon to be released book. 

Du Plessis, who hasn't officially announced his T20 retirement, but hung up his red-ball boots in February 2021 after SA's 2-0 series loss against Pakistan, told the story in his up-coming book, Faf: Through Fire, of how Cullinan treated him badly when he first spent time in the Titans' dressing room.

Du Plessis, an Afrikaans Seuns Hoërskool (Affies) alumni, joined the recently-merged franchise in 2004 where Cullinan was captain.

"I was bowled over when I saw Daryll sitting there. Here I am, a rookie and I share a dressing room with one of the most talented batsmen of his generation," Du Plessis said.

"I resolved to do everything in my power to learn as much as possible from him.

"I knew I would have to earn my place in the starting XI, but the presence of this Protea legend made the merger an incredible opportunity for me to grow.

"Then, a few minutes into the (Titans coach Dave Nosworthy's) speech, Daryll raised his hand and told the coach to shut up. Then he turned to me: 'What the f**k are you doing next to me? Why the f**k are you sitting here?'

"The dressing room fell dead silent. Nos tried to brush off this interruption and continued talking. But after a minute or so, Daryll interrupted again: 'No, stop.'

"He then turned to me: 'Youngster, take your bag and f**k off! Jacques Rudolph is a Test player, and he's not even sitting next to me. He sits on a chair, but you sit on a f**king sofa.

"I froze. 'Take your bag and sit in the bath,' he continued to scold. 'You don't deserve to sit here.'"

Cullinan, a talented batter who played in 70 Tests and 138 ODIs between 1992