South Africa have decided to rest their Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis for the final Twenty20 international of the three match T20I series against West Indies in Durban on Wednesday. The board had decided to give du Plessis a break for managing his long-term hip injury ahead of the important 2015 ICC World Cup, where the proteas will look to pocket their first World Cup triumph.
West Indies has taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in three match T20 series. It was Chris Gayle, who single handedly trashed the Proteas in both the matches. Du Plessis also scored the second fastest century (off 46 balls) in T20Is during the second T20I against West Indies on Sunday.
Du Plessis will be replaced by the middle-order batsman Justin Ontong as captain for the final fixture. Ontong came into the squad as a replacement for JP Duminy.
“Faf has been rested for the last T20 as a precautionary measure ahead of a busy ODI period over the next three months. He has a longstanding hip niggle and any amount of rest will be beneficial to him in the long run,” South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a statement released by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday.