Saint Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis have been ruled out of the ongoing CPL 2023 with a long-standing tennis elbow injury. Having endured a tennis elbow injury for approximately two years now, Faf du Plessis finally decided to undergo surgery for the same.
Faf du Plessis Ruled Out of CPL 2023
During his struggle over this period, the 39-year-old had been playing by using cortisone injections as a temporary solution but it appears that things have reached a stage where a long-term solution is preferred.
Faf du Plessis who was assigned to captain the St Lucia Kings in the CPL 2023 had to leave midway while his team holds the top spot on the CPL 2023 points table.
“Happy with the results but obviously sad [that] I’m leaving at a crucial stage in the tournament when you feel like the team can start doing some really good things in the tournament,” du Plessis said at the post-match presentation of St. Lucia Kings’ latest game.
“For me, the challenge with the elbow is I’ve played with it (tennis elbow) for almost two years; I’ve had eight cortisone injections into my elbow. So I’m at a stage where the cortisone is not good for my body anymore; so that’s why the operation is always the last resort. I didn’t want to do it, but [have] time off now. I’ve got to basically go from here to get off the plane into the hospital to get the surgery done.”
In the five matches so far, St Lucia Kings won a couple of matches and lost a game while the remaining 2 games ended with no results. During his tenure, Faf scored 112 runs in three innings.
“[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,” du Plessis said. “So you just have to play a game where you feel like maybe hitting at 80% power, and [on] fields like this [in the CPL] a little bit smaller, you can just time the ball.”
Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza, who made his debut for Kings only earlier this month, will take over as the captain of the side.
“Raza is someone who has played a lot of T20 and T10 cricket. So very much an experienced brain there; so it’s great to have those guys on the field and ask questions. Obviously, it’s a change, and probably you could say a big change because it’s someone stepping into the shoes for the first time with the St Lucia Kings.
But luckily, we’ve got someone like Sammy there who will make sure for the first one or two games there will be some direction from his side. And then trust the guy on the field with the resources that he has at his disposal.”
Kings have also roped in Colin Munro, the highest run-getter among overseas players in CPL history, as du Plessis’ replacement.
“Always for me, it’s about pulling people in for the journey, and try and ask questions. And I feel that’s the best way, according to me, to run things,” du Plessis said.
“You use the resources that you have. Roston Chase has been great. For me on the field, [it’s] just speaking to him about local players and asking questions. Johnson Charles is a great cricket brain. He’s not a guy who says a lot, but [is] a great thinker.
As per CPL 2023 Men’s Schedule, Saint Lucia Kings will play their next game against Barbados Royals on September 2 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
