According to reports, Faf du Plessis has announced that he is stepping down from his role as captain of the Standard Bank Proteas’ Test and T20 teams effective immediately.
The 35-year-old has reportedly seen a need to take a step back from his captaincy in order to help facilitate the development of the next generation of leaders within the team under the new stewardship of Quinton de Kock.
The announcement was made in a Cricket South Africa press release on Monday morning.
IOL News reported that Du Plessis said he would like to concentrate on contributing to the team as a batsman and senior player who will offer guidance and advice to the new leadership group as part of their succession planning.
Faf said in a statement: “The last few weeks of rest away from the game have given me a lot of perspective on the great privilege and honour I have had in representing and leading my country in the three formats of this wonderful game. It has been a rewarding, sometimes tough and other times a lonely road, but I would not replace the experience for anything, because it has made me the man that I am proud to be today.”
He continued, “When I took over the leadership, I did so with the commitment to lead, perform and most importantly, to serve. As the team heads into a new direction with new leaders and a young crop of players, I feel it will be in the best interests of South African cricket to relinquish the captaincy in all formats. This was one of the toughest decisions to make, but I remain fully committed to supporting Quinton, Mark and my teammates as we continue to rebuild and re-align as a group.”
