Faf du Plessis is ruled out for six weeks with a back injury.
The news that South African all-rounder Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against Pakistan has forced the side to bring in emergency cover.
The man being brought into the Proteas squad is Quinton de Kock, who was dropped from the one-day side after the New Zealand series in January.
Du Plessis’ injury will also not be received well by the Chennai Super Kings – the 28-year-old’s side in the IPL.
The injury to the all-rounder will keep him out of at least the first nine IPL fixtures for Chennai as he isn’t expected to return until the end of April.
Du Plessis is the captain of the international Twenty20 side and revealed that he did not bowl himself in the short-over fixtures against Pakistan due to his back injury.
There will now be a gap in South Africa’s middle-order for the upcoming ODIs and the decision will have to be made about whether to play de Kock or Dolphins batsman David Miller.
Miller is already in the squad for the series and has played 18 one-day matches for South Africa to date, scoring 296 runs.
De Kock will play one more domestic Twenty20 game for the Lions before joining up with the national squad on Wednesday, in preparation for the fourth ODI in Durban on Thursday.
The final match of the one-day series against the Pakistanis is in Benoni on Sunday, with South Africa currently leading the series 2-1.
COMMENTS