Picture Credit: Twitter
Veteran South Africa batter Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the first three matches of the Northern Superchargers as he continues to complain of symptoms of concussion after a blow to his head during the final stages of the Pakistan Super League. Notably, Du Plessis had been diagnosed with a concussion when his head collided with his Quetta Gladiators teammate Mohammad Hasnain's knee while fielding during a Peshawar Zalmi fixture against Abu Dhabi in June.
The injury had ruled him out of the tournament and he returned to South Africa. Then he returned to Croatia to quarantine ahead of The Hundred. Although he was set to captain the Superchargers in the Hundred, England all-rounder Ben Stokes led in his absence in their campaign's opening game on Saturday against Welsh Fire.
It is in the best interests of the batter to rest: Northern Superchargers
"The Northern Superchargers medical team have been assessing the 37-year-old since his arrival last Friday and have decided it is in the best interests of the batter to rest for the opening three games. They will continue to monitor his progress," said an official statement.
"Thank you, everyone, for all the messages of support," du Plessis had tweeted after the concussion.
"I’m back at the hotel recovering. Have a concussion with some memory loss but I will be fine. Hopefully, be back on the field soon," he had said.
Check out du Plessis' tweet here:
Several media reports claim that the Supercharges have in fact lined up Dane Vilas, the Lancashire wicketkeeper, as a replacement, by the time Faf recovers completely. It is worth highlighting that Vilas was a £125,000 signing for Manchester Originals in the competition's initial draft in October 2019. However, he had lost his contract when his status as a Kolpak ended, implying that he was no longer a local player but turned an overseas option.
The development also confirms that Stokes will captain against Trent Rockets on Monday, with perhaps a new skipper- most probably David Willey or Chris Lynn- set to be up against the Originals on Wednesday.