Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis is back with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise, but not in the Indian Premier League (IPL). According to a report in Cricbuzz, the CSK management has secured the signature of du Plessis as their marquee signing for the Cricket South Africa (CSA) league, a T20 tournament scheduled to be launched next year. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians have made their intentions clear and displayed their level of seriousness by securing the services of some of the most sought-after names in T20 cricket.
CSA league, a competition that will consist of six teams, all owned by IPL franchises, with the CSK management owning the Johannesburg franchise. Faf du Plessis, who represented CSK for eight seasons in the cash-rich tournament, was one of the key players behind the franchise's title-winning run in 2018 and 2021.
The veteran right-handed batter's consistency with the bat at the top of the order enabled the Men in Yellow to clinch several crunch league and knockout matches. The 38-year-old's tally of 2932 runs in 100 matches puts him in the third position in the list of leading run-scorers for CSK.
However, the franchise didn't retain its prolific run-scorer before the 15th edition of the IPL and during the mega auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought the Protea willow-wielder for a whopping sum of ₹ 7 crore and named him the captain of the franchise.
The six franchise's deadline to sign five players ended on August 10 (Wednesday). According to the guidelines, each of the six franchises had the luxury of signing five players by the deadline. But the list should abide by the rule which states that a franchise could rope in one South African, three foreigners with not more than two from the same country and an uncapped player.
The CSK franchise has also reportedly roped in Moeen Ali, who currently plays for them in the IPL.
Mumbai Indians sign five big names
Five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians have made some big signings for their Cape Town franchise. The most successful franchise in IPL history has also revealed the names of all their five signings. The Ambani-owned franchise has secured the services of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dewald Brevis and Rashid Khan.
“I'm excited as we begin our journey in building “MI Cape Town”. With our direct player signings, we have taken the first step towards building the MI philosophy - having a strong core around which the team will be planned," said Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio.
"I am glad to welcome Rashid, Kagiso, Liam, Sam, to the #OneFamily and happy to have Dewald continue with us on this new journey.
"We are certain that MI Cape Town, like the two other teams, will play the brand of cricket MI is synonymous with-playing fearless cricket, and the same will resonate with the passionate cricket fans of South Africa and across the world," he concluded.
Delhi Capitals-owned Pretoria and Sunrisers Hyderabad-owned Port Elizabeth sides have reportedly signed their South African stars. Hence, spearhead Anrich Nortje will play for Pretoria and Aiden Markram will represent Port Elizabeth.
Jos Buttler will play for Paarl, a franchise owned by Rajasthan Royals while Quinton de Kock will form the foundation of Durban team that is owned by Lucknow Super Giants.
CSA league teamwise signings so far
Johannesburg - owned by Chennai Super Kings - signed Faf du Plessis & Moeen Ali
Paarl - owned by - Rajasthan Royals -signed Jos Buttler
Durban - owned by Lucknow Super Giants - signed by Quinton de Kock
Pretoria - owned by Delhi Capitals - signed Anrich Nortje
Port Elizabeth - owned by Sunrisers Hyderabad - signed Aiden Markram
Cape Town - owned by Mumbai Indians - signed Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dewald Brevis & Rashid Khan
