Du Plessis ruled out of the Hundred Men’s 2021

Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of this year’s Men’s Hundred competition after suffering a concussion earlier this year in the Pakistan Super League and failing to recuperate properly. As part of his recovery, he was initially withdrawn from three of the Northern Superchargers’ first games, but du Plessis confirmed his return to South Africa via an Instagram post.

The Superchargers said in a statement: “Faf du Plessis will return to South Africa to continue his rehab from the concussion he suffered at the PSL earlier this year. Dane Vilas will continue as his replacement at Northern Superchargers for the remainder of the competition.”

When du Plessis’ head connected with his Quetta Gladiators teammate Mohammad Hasnain’s knee during a match against Peshawar Zalmi in Abu Dhabi in June, he received his first concussion. He had to withdraw from the rest of the tournament due to injury, and he returned to South Africa immediately after, before travelling to Croatia to quarantine ahead of the Hundred.

The Superchargers were supposed to be captained by du Plessis, but Ben Stokes took over before taking a hiatus from cricket, and David Willey took over afterwards.

CSK will place a premium on Du Plessis’ fitness because the South African is an important part in MS Dhoni’s plans for the franchise. The 37-year-old, who bats first for the three-time champions, has been a rock-solid performer for the franchise since their comeback in 2018, with a particularly strong showing during Phase 1.

The Proteas super-star will now compete in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL T20), followed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021. If CSK’s opening batsman does not recover in time, he may be forced to withdraw from both the CPL and the IPL.