Faf du Plessis, de Kock, Rabada rested for remaining SL T20I games

South Africa team management has decided to rest skipper Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada for the second and third T20I against Sri Lanka. The decision is taken with an intention to manage the workload of players ahead of the World Cup.

In the absence of Faf du Plessis, all-rounder JP Duminy will lead the South African team in the remaining games.

du Plessis, de Kock, Rabada get much needed rest

The trio of Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada forms the core of South Africa’s team and all three have featured in the Test as well as ODI series against Sri Lanka.

And they will also be taking part in the IPL and thus the team management has rested them to ensure they are fit for the World Cup.

South Africa to test fringe players

Cricket South Africa’s national selection panel convener Linda Zondi stated that the first match forms part of their Vision 2019 to continue exploring their options for the ICC Men’s World Cup.

He noted that JP Duminy will take over the captaincy for the last two matches while they give a short break to Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi who were involved across all three formats for the Proteas.

Zondi pointed out that they have used their T20 International matches in the past as the first port of call to widen the pool of talent.

South Africa squad for 2nd and 3rd T20I

The first T20I between South Africa and Sri Lanka ended in a tie and then courtesy of Imran Tahir’s brilliance, South Africa emerged victorious in the super over.

The second T20I will be played on March 22 and the third T20I will be played on March 24.

South Africa squad:JP Duminy (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen