CSK old boys du Plessis and Fleming are set to be Jo’burg Super Kings’ captain and coach, respectively
CSK old boys du Plessis and Fleming are set to be Jo’burg Super Kings’ captain and coach, respectively, Faf du Plessis will be leading Johannesburg Super Kings in the CSA’s T20 league, starting next year. Du Plessis is the former South Africa captain. He has been selected by the franchise as one of its five direct signings for the US $375,000. The franchise is owned by Chennai Super Kings Sports Limited which is the owner of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Chennai Supr Kings has acquired Moeen Ali for $400,000.
Du Plessis has played 100 matches for Chennai Super Kings in two periods. One stint was from 2011 to 2015, and the other was from 2018 to 2021. Moeen became a Chennai Super Kings franchise player in the year 2021.
The Johannesburg franchise has selected another of Chennai’s 2022 players. Maheesh Theekshana was picked up for $200,000. He is the Sri Lankan offspinner. West Indies allrounder Romario Shepherd was picked up for $175,000. South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee was acquired for $50,000. These players were signed to be on the team.
Apart from the three players, du Plessis, Moeen, and Theekshana, a few of the coaching staff are also from old Chennai Super Kings. Stephen Fleming will be holding the position of head coach at Johannesburg. Eric Simons will be assisting him. It is rumored that the franchise is on the verge of signing Albie Morkel, the former South Africa allrounder. He is expected to be a part of the coaching staff. Morkel was a member-player of the Chennai Super Kings from 2008 to 2013.
The six franchises will be allowed direct signings from a pool of 30 marquee names finalized by CSA in the recent past.
The English contingent dominated the marquee list with the pair of Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone in a wait to earn half a million dollars each.
Moeen was the third most expensive player on the list. There was no clarity until now about his appearance in the CSA-run league or the UAE’s ILT20. The two leagues are set to run more or less concurrently in January-February 2023.
The six franchises will be allowed a squad strength of 17 players. The franchises have begun announcing their direct signings. But they will be picking the remaining 12 players at an auction scheduled for September 20, 2022.
The franchises have been given an auction purse of $2 million. But the maximum salary that can be deducted as per the rules is $250,000. Players drawing more than that prescribed salary would still be paid in full. The amount that will exceed $250,000 will be counted as a marketing cost.