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Cape Town - South Africa stand-in ODI captain Faf du Plessis has openly stated that he did not agree with the decision to leave star batsman Hashim Amla out of the second ODI against Australia.
Amla had missed the first match due to illness, but was fit for the second match at the Wanderers. The selectors opted to keep Rilee Rossouw at the top of the order.
While Rossouw scored a half century, Du Plessis felt that Amla had been punished purely for having the flu, and that one does not leave a batsman who averages over 50 out of the side if you can help it.
Du Plessis said: "The selectors made that decision. They wanted to keep the same team (from the first ODI).
"Obviously for me Hash is one of the best players in the world, but they felt that was the case. There’s nothing that I can do about that.
"Hashim averages (52) in one-day cricket, so for me you can never replace that.
"And if you miss one game for the ‘flu then it’s always the respect that you’re given to come back into the team.
"So if it was my decision I would definitely bring him back and the same with the coach, but the selectors felt the combination at the top was working really well.
"So I suppose you can look at it from that point of view as well. But it wasn’t my decision."
The Proteas lead the five-match series 2-0 after two games, with the next match in Durban on Wednesday at 13:30.
