CRICKET South Africa CSA) on Sunday named David Miller of the Sunfoil Dolphins as the replacement batsman for AB de Villiers in the Proteas Castle Lager squad for the remainder of the Momentum ODI series against New Zealand.
Faf du Plessis of the Nashua Titans will take over the captaincy.
De Villiers has been banned for two ODI matches in terms of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct for slow over rates following the first match in the Momentum ODI series against New Zealand at Boland Park on Saturday.
The remaining two matches are at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Tuesday and at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, on Friday. They are both day/night matches.
“Hashim Amla, who was next in line, asked not to be considered for the captaincy so that he can concentrate on his batting and we felt we should accede to his request,” commented CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson, “and that left Faf du Plessis as the logical choice after the good job he did with the Blue Label Telecoms squad in the KFC T20 International Series against New Zealand.
“Losing AB for the remainder of the series is obviously a big blow to us, particularly as he is still growing in the captaincy and needs every opportunity ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in the middle of the year.
“At the same time it is an opportunity for David Miller who has been on the fringes of our 50 overs thinking. He is a superb finisher who had a strike rate of 98 in the Momentum One-Day Cup domestic competition and also did very well for Yorkshire in last year’s England domestic T20 competition.”
