Former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis on Monday revealed that he and his wife Imari Visser received a death threat after he was involved in a mix up with AB de Villiers, which ended with a run out. The incident took place during the quarterfinal match between South Africa and New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup.
South Africa lost the low-scoring encounter by 49 runs and in the process were knocked out of the marquee event. The game was played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
Chasing 222 for a win, Du Plessis walked to bat at number six and joined De Villiers at the crease when South Africa was reeling at 121 for 4. ABD was batting at 35 and looked in good touch. Du Plessis defended his first ball. He nudged the second ball towards mid-wicket and the duo tried to steal a single. However, a clean pick-up and acute throw by Martin Guptill to his keeper Brendon McCullum, ended ABD’s fight back.
Du Plessis scored 36 runs off 43 balls before Jacob Oram sent him back to the stands but it was not enough as the rainbow nation lost the match.
Du Plessis on Monday during an interview with ESPNcricinfo’s Cricket Monthly revealed that he and his wife received death threats after the match and the incident made them ‘introverted’.
“I received death threats after that [match]. My wife received death threats. We turned on social media and we were blown away. It became very personal. There were some very offensive things said that I won’t repeat,” Du Plessis said.
Du Plessis, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, said that such incidents make one “introverted towards people and you put a shield up.” He further said that every player goes through such instances and that is why they tend to keep their circles very small.
