Faf du Plessis, the former South Africa skipper will reunite with his former Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming in the new CSA T20 League. Faf du Plessis has been named the captain while Stephen Fleming will be the head coach of Johannesburg Super Kings.
Faf du Plessis had joined Royal Challengers Bangalore after being with CSK for 9 years. Faf du Plessis was named as one of the five direct signings by the Johannesburg franchise, which is owned by CSK Sports Limited.
Faf du Plessis and Stephen Fleming will reunite for Johannesburg Super Kings having been at CSK for a long time Photo: IANS
Faf du Plessis Named Johannesburg Skipper; Stephen Fleming Is Coach As The Ex-CSK Duo Will Reunite In South Africa
Not just Faf du Plessis, Stephen Fleming, the head coach of the four-time IPL champions will continue in the same role at Johannesburg as well, as the ex-CSK duo will reunite in the rainbow nation.
Alongside Faf du Plessis ($375,000), the Johannesburg Super Kings have also picked Moeen Ali ($400,000) and Maheesh Theekshana ($200,000) from their IPL roster.
Moeen Ali (Photo Credit: CSK Twitter Handle)
Faf du Plessis parted ways with the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings after two stints from 2011-2015 and 2018-2021, while Moeen Ali was retained after a successful first year with the side in 2021. The Sri Lankan mystery spinner Theekshana was bought for INR 70 Lakh at the mega auction in 2022.
Faf du Plessis has appeared in 100 matches with the Chennai Super Kings in two spells, from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2018 to 2021.
Stephen Fleming Will Be Joined By Assistant Eric Simmons
Apart from the trio, the Johannesburg franchise has also roped in West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd ($175,000)and South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee ($175,000) as part of the five pre-auction signings.
All six franchises are allowed to sign five players each from a pool of 30 marquee players before the auction. The auction, which is set to take place on September 20 will allow the sides to sign 12 more players to complete their squads of 17 each.
Eric Simmons (Image Credit: Twitter)
As for the support staff, Stephen Fleming will be the head coach while he will be joined by Eric Simmons, who will be his assistant. Eric Simmons is currently the bowling coach of CSK for the last few years and the report stated that the franchise is also looking to zero down on former all-rounder Albie Morkel as well to be part of the backroom staff. Albie Morkel was part of CSK for six years, including two title-winning teams in 2010 and 2011.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was mulling appointing MS Dhoni as the mentor of the Johannesburg-based team. As per the reports, CSK had approached the BCCI for permission to use MS Dhoni’s brain in the CSA T20 League. MS Dhoni has been asked to retire from the Indian Premier League (IPL) if he wants to feature in the upcoming T20 League of Cricket South Africa (CSA).
The six franchises in the SA T20 league have been bought by the following IPL teams — MI (Cape Town), LSG (Durban), SRH (Port Elizabeth or Gqeberha), CSK (Johannesburg), RR (Paarl), and DC (Pretoria). The CSA T20 league is likely to be played between January 6 and February 12. The tournament is set to clash with the UAE’s ILT20 and the BBL.
