Skipper Faf du Plessis who hammered a blistering century to help South Africa set a respectable target of 270 runs for India in the opening ODI of the six-match series at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground on Wednesday has been ruled out of the rest of the games with a finger injury.
Du Plessis sustained the finger injury during the Durban ODI that India won by six wickets.
The South African captain shared the news on his Instagram account, "Thanx for all the kind messages.Not a result we wanted in the 1st game but a lot of cricket left in the series.Gutted to be out injured for the rest of the series with a fractured finger.looking forward to see some big performances from the men in green and gold."
"I just got a blow (to my finger), so hopefully it will be fine for the next game," du Plessis had said in the post- match conference on Thursday. However, further assessment revealed that he had sustained a fracture that will require 3-6 weeks to heal, thus ruling him out of the remaining five ODIs and three T20Is.
All-rounder Farhaan Behardien has been named as his replacement while Heinrich Klaasen has also been included in the South Africa squad as a reserve keeper. South Africa are without AB de Villiers, who was earlier ruled out of the first three ODIs after he had injured his right index finger during the dramatic final Test that India won in Johannesburg.
Cricket South Africa, meanwhile, has not named a replacement for de Villiers.
