Injured Faf du Plessis ruled out of Bangladesh T20I series
What's the story?
South African captain Faf du Plessis who retired hurt during the third ODI against Bangladesh, has been ruled out of the two-match T20I series against Bangladesh. In his absence, JP Duminy will captain the side while Dwaine Pretorius has been added to the squad.
During the third ODI, Faf du Plessis retired hurt on 91, with a lower back strain and he will take no part in the upcoming T20I series and will instead return to Cape Town to receive treatment.
South Africa squad: JP Duminy (C), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
In case you didn't know...
With a 2-0 lead in the series, the Proteas made a few changes, including two ODI debutants, for the third ODI against Bangladesh. Despite the changes, the hosts still came out on top and they whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock added a century partnership for the opening wicket. Although Bavuma fell short of his fifty, Quinton got his. On the back of Faf du Plessis' 91 and a fifty on debut from Aiden Markram, South Africa posted 369/6. In response, Bangladesh were bowled out for 169.
The heart of the matter
The Proteas captain longs a long line of players that the Proteas currently have injured that includes Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi and Duanne Olivier.
While the T20I squad to face Bangladesh doesn't include Kagiso Rabada or Imran Tahir, who have both been rested for the series, it includes all the batting stars, including the likes of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock.
What's next?
South Africa, who are currently the No.1 ranked ODI side in the world, will turn their attention towards T20I, where they will be hoping to improve on their ranking of No.7. Following that, the Proteas aren't scheduled to play another international game until Boxing Day.
Author's take
Ever since being awarded the captaincy across all the formats for South Africa, Faf du Plessis has been in sublime form. His injury isn't great news for the Proteas but the fact that they aren't playing an international match for another two months means that he will have plenty of time to recover and play some domestic cricket before a gruelling season resumes with series against Zimbabwe, India and Australia.