Faf du Plessis has decided to step down from all leadership roles, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed on February 17 (Monday). Citing as reasons, the former skipper said that he wanted to pave way for the emergence of next generations leaders to take the centre stage and take the country's cricket forward. Quinton de Kock, who took over the reins in the limited-overs, is likely to take over in the red-ball cricket.
Du Plessis was appointed full-time T20I captain in 2013 and four years later took charge of the ODI side after the retirement of AB de Villiers. He remains the only South African captain to win a home and away series against Australia in both Tests and ODIs.
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Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock replaced Faf du Plessis as the ODI skipper in the series against England and continued to lead the side in the absence of the former skipper. While de Kock will lead the Proteas in the three T20Is against Australia starting this week, du Plessis is likely to feature in the squad. Meanwhile, with their next engagement in that format is in West Indies in July, so there is no hurry to choose a new leader.
"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 said about his decision.
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"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," he added.
South Africa will have bold decisions to make in the coming days as the game in the country goes through a crisis period. Quinton de Kock will have to lead the team from the front as they look to revive their legacy in international cricket.
