Cape Town — Faf du Plessis will be returning to Super Kings yellow for the first time since he left the Indian Premier League franchise a couple of seasons ago.
Du Plessis captains Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League now, but it is with the Chennai Super Kings that he forged his reputation as a T20 superstar.
With the launch of the new SA20, that gets underway on Tuesday at Newlands, there wasn’t much hesitation from the IPL franchise to get Du Plessis back among their ranks.
The former Proteas skipper will lead the Joburg Super Kings into battle in the inaugural tournament, and his knowledge of how the franchise operates will play a big role helping them hit the ground running in their opener against Durban Super Giants at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
“Nice kit, back in yellow for me. A team that I played for a long time in the IPL. And I think, all of us are excited about a new tournament starting in South Africa,” Du Plessis said.
“It’s an opportunity for the young South African players to rub shoulders with the likes of Stephen Fleming, Eric Simmons, up there with the best coaches in the game. In terms of fast-tracking talents and people’s brains, there’s no better opportunity for that,” he added.
“I’ve seen first-hand how good they are as a management group, and how good the franchise is. So, it’s a pleasure to play for a team like that. So, as a player, you just feel like going out there and doing your best. There’s no pressure on you from the management so it’s a very easy team to play for. I feel very lucky to be a part of this team,” he added.
The Super Kings have lost a major player in the form of England’s rising star Harry Brook due to the England Cricket Board citing fatigue, but they still boast a host of attacking talent.
Proteas stars Reeza Hendricks and Janneman Malan are expected to open the batting, followed by Du Plessis, while a lot is expected of rising talent Donavon Ferreira in this tournament.
But in true Du Plessis fashion, the Super Kings are expected to unleash a battery of fast bowlers that are led by West Indian Alzarri Joseph and South African tearaway Gerald Coetzee.
In contrast, the home team will depend heavily on their spin arsenal of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Prenelan Subrayen and Akila Dananjaya in their own conditions.
Durban Super Giants coach Lance Klusener will depend heavily on runs from his captain Quinton de Kock while West Indians Johnson Charles and Kyle Mayers will also have to play a big role at Kingsmead.
Start: 5:30pm TV: SuperSport
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