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‘Hope We Don’t See Him’ - Why Du Plessis Is Hoping For Bumrah To Never Play THIS Tournament
Follow UsWhy is Faf against the idea of seeing Bumrah feature?
The 2025/26 edition of the SA20 will begin in just over a month, and all eyes will once again be on Joburg Super Kings, the sister franchise of Chennai Super Kings, to see if the team in yellow can finally break the duck and go all the way.
The Super Kings reached the playoffs in the previous edition but succumbed in the Eliminator to the Sunrisers. This time around, they will be hoping to get their hands on that elusive trophy.
Ahead of the new season, the franchise’s captain, Faf du Plessis, was in India for a promotional event, and there he lauded India’s Jasprit Bumrah as the ‘toughest bowler’ to face. Along with that statement, he cheekily commented in a sarcastic tone that he hopes not to see Bumrah in the SA20.
“Bumrah is the toughest bowler in the world to face. Hope we don’t see him in SA20,” du Plessis said, reported Hindustan Times.
In the same event, du Plessis spoke about South Africa’s chances ahead of the two-Test series in India starting in a couple of days’ time. The former South Africa captain asserted that it will be key for the Proteas to start the series on a strong note in order to compete with the hosts.
He further attested that it will be imperative that the batters start the series well, as an under-confident start could spell doom for the rest of the tour.
“Look, it’s a tough place to come and play cricket. I think Graeme (Smith) touched on it earlier. Your best chance at success here (in India) is when you start the series well,” du Plessis said.
“As a batting unit, you need to get some runs early to build confidence. You almost have to block out the conditions mentally. Once you’ve got runs under your belt, everything feels easier.
“If you start under pressure, get low scores, and lose the first Test, then the feeling that it’s going to be a hard tour just sets in," he added.
The 41-year-old said that the first Test in Kolkata will pretty much decide the fate of the visitors.
“That first Test will be a big stepping stone. It’ll decide whether we do well or struggle."