In the absence of South African skipper Faf du Plessis, opener Aiden Markram has been named as the stand-in captain of the Proteas team for the remainder of the ODI series against India.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis was ruled out from the remaining ODI and T20I series due to an injury to his finger. Faf’s absence would be a massive blow for the hosts as AB de Villiers was out from first three ODI matches due to injury.
Du Plessis had injured his finger during the opening ODI match between India and South Africa in which he scored his ninth hundred to take the Proteas to 269/8. Following the target, visitors chased the total with ease and won the match by six wickets.
“I just got a blow (to my finger), so hopefully it will be fine for the next game,” Faf du Plessis had said in the post-match conference.
However, later it was revealed that Du Plessis had fractured his finger that will require 3-6 weeks to heal. Cricket South Africa will announce the replacement for Faf for the reaming matches today.
Farhaan Behardien has been called up as du Plessis’ replacement. Also, wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen has also been given a maiden call-up to the ODI squad as a back-up to first-choice Quinton de Kock.
Du Plessis is now facing a race against time to be fit for the first Test against Australia starting in Durban on March 1. This a huge blow for the Proteas who had earlier lost batting mainstay AB de Villiers for the first three ODIs, also owing to a finger injury sustained during the third Test at Wanderers.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the visitors started their six-match One Day International series on a winning note by defeating the hosts by six wickets in Durban.
India have taken the lead of 1-0 in the series.