What Happened to Faf du Plessis: Why is RCB Captain Not Leading in Today’s Match vs PBKS in Mohali?

In a rare move, Royal Challengers Bangalore announced their Impact Player right at the toss. With former captain Virat Kohli leading the franchise for the first time in over 18 months, regular captain Faf du Plessis‘ absence at the toss instantaneously became a cause of concern for their fans.

Not that du Plessis is not playing this match. As this piece is being written, he is in the middle of an attacking opening stand alongside Kohli. It’s just that du Plessis isn’t leading Bangalore in Indian Premier League 2023 Match 27 against Punjab Kings in Mohali.

Highest run-scorer in the season at this point in time, it would have been pretty unfortunate for RCB to miss out on du Plessis’ services as a batter especially after losing their last match in spite of looking to win it for a large part of the second innings.

Why is Faf du Plessis Not Leading in Today’s Match vs PBKS in Mohali?

Not keeping his cards close to his chest, Kohli confirmed right away that du Plessis will be substituted by pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar in the second innings. The development means that the remaining four substitute players in David Willey, Karn Sharma, Akash Deep or Anuj Rawat are almost certain to not play any role in this match.

“Faf [du Plessis] potentially can’t be fielding today. So he’ll be playing as an impact player, switching with Vyshak [Vijaykumar],” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports Network at the toss.

Readers must note that Royal Challengers could’ve opted to rest du Plessis from fielding as a precautionary measure due to him suffering a minor rib injury in the last match against Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli Captaincy Record in the IPL

Kohli, 34, had last led Bangalore during IPL 2021 Eliminator in Sharjah. When du Plessis was off the field for a brief period on Monday, not Kohli but all-rounder Glenn Maxwell had led RCB at their home ground.

Kohli, who had stepped down as captain after the conclusion of the 14th season of the IPL, is leading Royal Challengers for the 141st time in the IPL. One of the most followed franchises, it has won 64 and lost 69 matches without lifting a title across nine seasons under Kohli.