Faf du Plessis ruled out of Boxing Day Test

AB de Villiers will lead South Africa in his comeback Test match against Zimbabwe in the absence of regular captain Faf du Plessis, Cricket South Africa confirmed on Tuesday (December 26). Until yesterday, the Proteas were sweating over the fitness of du Plessis, who has been out of action since the second ODI against Bangladesh in October as he injured his back.

He gave himself only a 60% chance of recovering in time for the historic four-day Test, was ruled out as a viral infection delayed his recovery from lower back and shoulder injuries.

De Villiers, meanwhile, hasn’t played a Test in almost two years, has now been named stand-in skipper for the one-off day-night Test, ahead of Dean Elgar, who was earlier tipped to lead the side. The 33-year-old had taken time off from the longer version of the game while continuing to dominate bowlers in limited overs.

With the fear about the stiff lower back in mind, he was out of the three-day warm-up match against Zimbabwe in Paarl. However, South Africa are now hopeful of du Plessis recovering in time for the first Test against India in Cape Town, which commences on January 5th.

Steady progress

“Faf has been making steady progress from the respective back and shoulder injuries and until last week was on track to make a comeback in this match,” team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee said, as reported by Cricbuzz.

“He developed a respiratory tract infection which delayed his recovery this week, and subsequently made it difficult for him to make a full recovery in time for the match. He will continue to receive treatment and rehab from our physiotherapist, Craig Govender, and we are hopeful he will recover in time to lead the team for the first Test cricket match against India starting in Cape Town on January 5th.”