Faf du Plessis will remain South Africa captain for their Tests against India in October. However, his role in the limited-overs games is not confirmed.
South Africa finished a disappointing seventh in the 2019 World Cup, winning just three of their matches. The result prompted a restructure of the system, with coach Ottis Gibson not being given an extension on his contract, the support staff being let go, and du Plessis’ own position on shaky grounds.
On Tuesday, August 6, Corrie van Zyl, Cricket South Africa’s acting director of cricket, said the board had decided to persist with du Plessis as skipper for the three-Test series starting October 2, but the call on ODI and T20I captain would depend on a long-term plan, put in place by a new management team.
@MrODGibson gonna miss you coach. Have spent a lot of time together over the last 18 months and you become a friend of mine. You are a great man . Thank you for everything that you have done. We appreciate you. pic.twitter.com/Y0f5iyJzum
— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) August 4, 2019
“Faf will be the captain of the Test team and then we will talk about the white-ball strategy to 2023 and how that will affect decision-making,” van Zyl said. “It’s important to look forward to 2023 as well. We need a strategy to 2023, so in terms of appointing the captain we will look at how we approach that. We are having a selection meeting in the next day-and-a-half to confirm that.”
Du Plessis, 35, who signed off from the World Cup with an emotional century against Australia in the final group game, has said before that he believes he has a couple of years of cricket left in him.
Congrats to all the winners at the #CSAawards19. Special mention goes to the skip @faf1307, the SA Cricketer of the Year. It's been a tough couple of months but you have led with unwavering distinction, purpose and integrity. SA cricket is lucky to have you #ProteaFire pic.twitter.com/Ol5VQLefGU
— Lerato Zondi (@leratomalekutu) August 4, 2019
Van Zyl is also head of the stand-in selection committee, with Linda Zondi, the previous convener of selectors, among those on their way out. As part of the restructure, CSA hope to have a new football-style team manager to take charge of all aspects of the team, including appointing coaching staff and captains, who will report to the director of cricket.
Van Zyl and Thabang Moroe, the CSA chief executive, are set to appoint an interim management team for the India tour.
The tour begins with the first of three T20Is on September 15. The women’s and A teams are also set to travel to India in the next few months.
