Faf du Plessis. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Faf du Plessis might not be in South Africa’s scheme of things in recent years but he has shown his class in the franchise leagues around the world. The Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) captain batted in three games in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League and scored 112 runs at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 147.37. However, he will play no further part as his tennis elbow issue is back and he will be returning to South Africa for the scans.
Faf played in the Kings’ most recent encounter against Trinbago Knight Riders and scored a fantastic 57 off 36, fighting through pain. SLK managed to win the match by 54 runs. After the match, the former South African captain revealed that he felt like losing power during his innings as he was trying to hit the big shots, so he tried to time the ball instead. To have a strike rate of 158.33 while in such discomfort shows the class of the 39-year-old.
“[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,” du Plessis told Ian Bishop in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Sikandar Raza to lead Saint Lucia Kings, Colin Munro to replace Faf du Plessis
Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza will take over leadership duties from Faf ahead of their upcoming game against Barbados Royals on Sunday, September 3, in Bridgetown, Barbados. New Zealand’s hard-hitting batter Colin Munro has been roped in as a replacement for du Plessis.
Munro is no stranger to CPL, as no other overseas cricketer has scored more runs than him in the tournament’s history. In 73 games, the southpaw has scored 2178 runs at an average of 35.70 and a strike rate of 129.56.