South African batsman Faf du Plessis was yesterday ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a broken finger, raising concerns about his availability for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
Du Plessis was the second-highest run-getter for his IPL side Rising Pune Supergiants before getting injured in his sixth game of the season on Tuesday.
“And so my ipl tournament unfortunately comes to an end. Broken finger and out for 6 weeks. Thanks India and @RPSupergiants. It’s been fun,” the Proteas Twenty20 skipper wrote on his twitter handle.
If Du Plessis takes six weeks to recover from his injury then he might miss the start of the West Indies tri-series starting June 3, which also involves Australia.
Incidentally it is Australian batsman Usman Khawaja who has been named as his replacement in the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side.
“One of our mainstays Faf du Plessis has injured his finger during the course of the last match and has returned to South Africa for further treatment. We wish him a speedy recovery,” coach Stephen Fleming said in a statement.
“We are glad to have roped in Usman Khawaja in the team. His presence will definitely be an advantage to the team and could be pivotal in bolstering the position of the side in the tournament,” the former New Zealand skipper added.
“His imperious form for the Sydney Thunders in the Big Bash League victory last season and being the leading run-scorer for Australia, for the recently-concluded World T20, has made us sit up and notice.”
Khawaja was already in the running to make the Supergiants cut after the team’s first casualty Kevin Pietersen, who injured his calf, returned to England last week.
Clive Lloyd
Michael Vaughan