South African captain Faf du Plessis' comments blaming IPL for their early exit did not go down well with netizens.
Pakistan defeated South Africa by 49 runs on Sunday at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. The defeat meant that the Proteas are the second team to be out of the World Cup campaign after Afghanistan.
The South African captain Faf du Plessis has, however, blamed the Indian Premier League (IPL) for their early exit from the tournament.
The skipper - who was part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise - revealed that he and the team management had tried to stop Kagiso Rabada from playing IPL.
Rabada - bowler for Delhi Capitals (DC) - was told to not go for IPL in order to keep fresh for this World Cup.
"I don't think we'll ever have a perfect answer for that because he's probably biting on too much," du Plessis said on Sunday (June 23), when asked about the fast bowler's workload. "But we did try and get him not to go to the IPL; to try and stay and get fresh. That wasn't the case of -- and then when he went there, we were like, let's try and get him back halfway through the IPL because it's important, not just for him, but a few other players.
"I mean, I spoke about it before the IPL even started, that it's important that we try and find space to rest our three-format players, because they play all the formats all the time, and then IPL.
These comments by the Proteas skipper did not go down well and Twitter soon reminded him of the other players who were part of the IPL and are performing well at the World up.
1. 'Most of all Indian team player, Even Willimson, Smith, Warner were busy with IPL'
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Dear @faf1307
— Dr JD (@jagadishexplore) June 24, 2019
This is a commonsense reminder to u
Most of all Indian team player, Even Willimson, Smith, Warner were busy with IPL, but they are doing good at worldcup too #WorldCup2019
Don't blame only to RABADA...Blame yourself first...Then team https://t.co/dKdn9J9FqL
Faf du Plessis had blamed IPL for Dale Steyn's injury, which was somewhat true. But now he blames IPL for Kagiso Rabada's mundane performance. This is lame from SA captain. Rabada was bowling only four overs per match in the IPL. #CWC19 #PAKvSA
— Gautam chauhan (@Gautamchauhan2) June 24, 2019
Spinning wickets in India - He cried
— Choke-idar Chiggy Viggy (@ThisAintParody) June 24, 2019
Pacer friendly wks in SA - He cried
Used chewing gum to tamper the ball - He cried
Steyn out of #CWC19 - He cried, blamed IPL
KG poor form - He cried, blamed IPL
Ladies and gentlemen, Faf du Plessis, skipper of South African cricket team
2. 'FAF is acting weird all of a sudden. Not cool FAF'
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FAF is acting weird all of a sudden. Not cool FAF
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) June 24, 2019
Tried to stop Rabada from going to the IPL: Faf du Plessis
Click here to view more : https://t.co/VX7CRDL03u
Its like a workman blaming his tools and that's pathetic. He himself played till the end.
— The Cricket Fanatic (@SHIRAZSHER) June 24, 2019
Tried to stop Rabada from going to the IPL: Faf du Plessis
Click here to view more : https://t.co/vexlImt3xh
Sorry #ProteaFire & #FafDuPlessis but this is the reality now! pic.twitter.com/3ZHWaRTtDj
— Harry Manchanda (@HarmanManchanda) June 24, 2019
3. 'Faf du Plessis was right there in IPL till the end!'
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LOL!!
— Piyush Shahi (@Piyushkshahi) June 24, 2019
Faf du Plessis was right there in IPL till the end. He played the final match. Why didn't he opt to leave IPL to stay 'Fresh' for #CWC19 ??? @faf1307
Seriously @faf1307 ? Shudn't participation in @ipl reflect on performance of all intl players? Why u, @QuintonDekock12 @Tipo_Morris did not do what @jpduminy21 did - shud have lead by example Faf ? @IPL @ChennaiIPL @BCCI @cricketworldcup @DelhiCapitalshttps://t.co/k2oJhKDH9X
— SS (@Yashkunaal) June 24, 2019
@faf1307 (1/5) Faf Du Plessis,If you were incredibly concerned about managing @KagisoRabada25 fitness prior to the World Cup.
— Guru (@GuruOncricket) June 24, 2019
As a Captain,You should have stepped up and withdrawn yourself for the IPL to set an example for the other players who were part of IPL teams.#PakvSA
