Faf du Plessis to miss rest of PSL 2021 after suffering 'concussion & memory loss'

Having suffered a horrific on-field collision, South Africa's former skipper Faf du Plessis will be skipping the remainder of the Pakistan Super League 2021. du Plessis' injury means that Quetta Gladiators will have suffered a huge blow as they will go into the remaining fixtures without their star batter, who will be travelling back to South Africa on Wednesday night. While there has been no update on his recovery yet, the veteran batter had tweeted on June 13 that he had a 'concussion with some memory loss' but hopes to be back soon. 

Notably, this is the second such incident in the PSL after the Windies power-hitter Andre Russell was stretchered off the field on Friday after he copped a nasty blow to his helmet. An update on Russell's return is awaited as well. 

What happened to Faf du Plessis? 

During the match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, du Plessis while attempting to save a boundary on the ropes, collided with his teammate. The Proteas fielder's suffered a nasty blow on his head, as Mohammad Hasnain's knee rammed onto the diving fielder. du Plessis seemed to be fallen unconscious immediately and had to be rushed to the hospital. After Du Plessis had to leave the field, Saim Ayub was named as the concussion substitute.

Soon after his injury, du Plessis' wife shared an image of the Proteas player, in which the cricketer seemed to be in excruciating pain as he was seen holding his forehead with a bruise below his right ear. 

Andre Russell Suffers Nasty Blow

West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell suffered a major blow on his helmet during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match on Friday following which he was taken off the field on a stretcher. The incident occurred during the first innings of the PSL match between Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United. In the 14th over of the game, Russell suffered a blow on his helmet off Muhammad Musa's bowling. The Jamaican all-rounder was later taken off the field on a stretcher and another player replaced him for the second innings.