Injured du Plessis ruled out for at least four weeks

Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand and will be out of action for at least four weeks due to a knee injury. Du Plessis did not play the T20s after picking up the injury during training ahead of the series. He should recover in time for South Africa's tour of India, which starts in October.

"It's frustrating for me because I feel good and in form," du Plessis said while doing a commentary stint during the first ODI. "Brandon Jackson, the physiotherapist, said I will need about three or four weeks of no running at all and then can get back into training."

This is the second injury du Plessis has had in the last few months after he suffered a broken finger during IPL 2015. Du Plessis played in the final despite the finger injury; he took the injury into South Africa's tour of Bangladesh but did not miss any matches. "At Chennai, my nickname is Ferrari because everything looks pretty good on the outside but there's not much going on on the inside."

Du Plessis' absence means that South Africa are without a third senior player after JP Duminy and Morne Morkel were given time off from the series for paternity leave. Rilee Rossouw will bat in du Plessis' place at No. 3 with Farhaan Behardien included in the lower middle order. Dean Elgar has been added to the squad as cover.