While Faf du Plessis might not have been a prominent figure in South Africa's cricket plans in recent years, he has consistently demonstrated his cricketing prowess in various franchise leagues across the globe.
Du Plessis is currently captaining the Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) in the CPL, and he showcased his batting skills in three matches during the ongoing event, where he managed to accumulate an impressive total of 112 runs, at an average of 37.33 and a striking rate of 147.37.
Unfortunately, his participation in the league has been halted due to a recurrence of his tennis elbow issue, forcing him to return to South Africa for medical assessments and further tests.
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In the most recent game that he played, SLK faced off against the Trinbago Knight Riders, and Faf du Plessis exhibited his hard-hitting skills with remarkable innings of 57 runs from 36 deliveries, all while battling discomfort. This extraordinary effort contributed significantly to SLK's victory, with a margin of 54 runs.
After the game, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis revealed that he sensed a loss in his power during the innings due to the existing pain. Consequently, he adopted a strategy of timing the ball rather than relying on brute force. The fact that he managed to maintain a strike rate of 158.33 under such challenging circumstances speaks volumes about the skill and tenacity of the 39-year-old cricketer.
Faf du Plessis felt loss of power
Reflecting on his performance, Du Plessis shared his insights during the post-match presentation ceremony, stating, “[During] the last while I did feel a little bit of loss of power – all because of the pain, which sometimes pulls the power back. So you just have to play a game where you feel like maybe hitting at 80% power, and [on] fields like this [which are] a little bit smaller, you can just time the ball. But yeah, really happy with the innings today.”
As Du Plessis steps aside due to his injury, Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza will assume the leadership responsibilities for the Saint Lucia Kings. Their upcoming fixture against the Barbados Royals on September 3rd in Bridgetown, Barbados will be the first game that the franchise play under their new captain.
New Zealand's Colin Munro has been drafted as Du Plessis' replacement.
Munro has the highest run tally in the history of the tournament among overseas cricketers in the history. Over the course of 73 matches, Munro has amassed an impressive total of 2,178 runs, maintaining an average of 35.70 and a striking rate of 129.56.
