The South African hasn't played the last four games
Delhi Capitals are having a fine Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. They are currently second in the table with and have a big chance to go top of the table when they face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. One of the biggest talking points ahead of Tuesday’s match was whether Faf du Plessis will play.
Faf du Plessis has not played since April 10, when he sustained an injury during the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru. He has missed three games since, and will also miss a fourth game after no being named in Delhi Capitals’ playing XI against Lucknow Super Giants.
Delhi Capitals made just one change from their last match by bringing in Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera in for Mohit Sharma.
Delhi Capitals had already beaten LSG in their first encounter of the season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium thanks to the batting heroics of Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav.
Impact Subs: Ayush Badoni, Mayank Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh.
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar.
Impact Subs: Delhi Capitals Impact Subs: Jake Fraser McGurk, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay.
Ahead of the reverse fixture against Rishabh Pant’s side, DC were boosted by the return of veteran South African batter Faf du Plessis.
On Tuesday, the franchise’s social media channels posted Du Plessis batting at full tilt in the nets, taking fielding drills and doing sprints in Lucknow.
When asked about the 41-year-old’s fitness, DC captain Axar Patel had this to say.
“I had been told that he wouldn’t be able to play three matches – that’s the time he needs to recover – and two matches are done. Maybe he will play the Gujarat game. But the physio has to confirm how his rehab has been going,” he said before their previous game against Gujarat Titans.
In his place, DC had to continue with Jake Fraser-McGurk for the opening slot alongside Abishek Porel. The Australian youngster has been failing miserably after a stunning debut last season as he managed just 55 runs from six matches.
Du Plessis on the other hand, has been consistent with his batting scoring a quickfire 29 off 18 balls in the opening-match win against LSG followed by a 27-ball 50 in the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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His return will most likely sideline Jake Fraser-McGurk and slot Karun Nair at No.3 followed by KL Rahul at No.4 then send in Axar Patel or Tristan Stubbs depending on the match situation.
LSG, after letting DC get away with 62 runs in the last five overs in their previous encounter, bounced back with five wins and are in contention for the top-four spots with 10 points after eight matches.
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