Faf du Plessis is likely to replace AB de Villiers as South Africa’s ODI captain
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Faf du Plessis is set to become South Africa’s captain in all three formats and even though that means there will be more pressure on his shoulders, the 33-year-old is welcoming the challenge with open arms.
The leadership position became vacant after AB de Villiers announced that he would be stepping down as captain.
While Du Plessis’ appointment has yet to be confirmed, there is no doubt he will be the frontrunner to succeed De Villiers.
“Captaining a team brings the best out of me,” Faf told Times of India.
While Du Plessis is ready to take on more responsibility, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith is concerned that the Pretoria native’s form could take a turn for the worse as he will be constantly under pressure to lead by example.
“Captaining in two formats is all right because you also need to rest and recuperate to remain injury free,” Smith added. “If he continues in a similar fashion, it will give him more time and space to enjoy his captaincy. This would be my advice to Faf.”
Meanwhile, Du Plessis has been named skipper of the Stellenbosch Monarchs, which will be one of eight franchises taking part in the inaugural Global T20 League in November.
Du Plessis expressed his excitement towards the tournament and believes that it will help develop and increase the popularity of cricket in South Africa.
“The challenges in front of our league is to make it successful,” he said. “Therefore it is important that cricket does not bleed and our cricketers don’t lose their focus by playing only one format.”
South Africa are coming off a disappointing tour of England, where they lost the ODI and Twenty20 series 2-1. The Proteas had a chance to redeem themselves in the four-Test series that followed, but they fell flat on their face as they were beaten 3-1.
South Africa’s next assignment will be home series against Bangladesh from September to October, which will consist of two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals.