IPL 2023 | Why Is Faf Du Plessis Not Playing?

image-lgoz84o5RCB got his ribs injured vs CSK (Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Faf du Plessis, will be absent for their sixth match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), which will be held at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. 

In their previous match of the IPL 2023 season, RCB experienced a disappointing 8-run defeat against the Chennai Super Kings, despite having won two matches earlier in the season, they have also suffered three losses. However, Faf will still be batting in the first innings since he is the Impact Player for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Unfortunately, he will not be fielding due to some fitness concerns.

Virat Kohli, the stand-in captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore today, announced that Faf du Plessis, the regular RCB captain, will not be included in the starting playing 11 for the PBKS vs RCB IPL 2023 match on Thursday, after losing the toss and being asked to bat first. 

Stand-in Captain Virat Kohli in the pre-match conversation said:

"Faf (du Plessis) potentially can’t be fielding today, so he’ll be playing as a impact player, switching with Vyshak. We got to do what we wanted, we would have batted first, the pitch could get slow, some scruff marks will help the bowlers going deep into the game. Taking one game at a time, focussing on our own game, make the most of crunch situations, we haven’t done that so far in the tournament. No other changes for us."

Despite being in excellent form this season, having scored 259 runs from 5 innings with an impressive average of over 64, Faf was observed to be struggling with some fitness issues during the last match, in which he scored 62 runs off 33 balls. He is also currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament.