Veteran South Africa player Faf du Plessis has expressed his views on his snub from the 2021 World T20 squad, citing that the board’s expectations were hard to fulfil. He missed the marquee event for the first time since making his international debut in 2011 as well.
Although he has retired from Test cricket, he is active in the limited-overs format. Even, he has been in great form in the T20 format, winning the player of the final award in IPL 2021 as well.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Faf du Plessis shared that Cricket South Africa (CSA) had strict rules regarding his availability, which gives limited time in overseas leagues.
The veteran right-handed batter again said: “I am on a different journey now. Last year when I played for SA against England the plan was very much to play at the World Cup and that was the talk. It was really difficult though for Cricket SA and myself to find something that still allowed me to play overseas because that’s obviously why I retired from Test cricket especially.”
"I'm on a different journey now" – Faf du Plessis addresses his absence from South Africa's T20 squad.
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— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 2, 2021
CSA Has Unrealistic Expectations From Players: Faf Du Plessis
Faf added: “They tried to but we couldn’t find a middle ground and I think they wanted people who were available all the time and that made it a challenge for the guys like myself and Imran Tahir because we were playing overseas as well.”I think that’s the challenge now because we are playing overseas and they want us to play all the games which is an unrealistic expectation.”
However, Faf du Plessis has a great record in T20Is, having scored 1528 runs in 50 matches at 35.53. He also has a T20I century; however, he is still unlikely to play the 2022 T20 World Cup as well.
Faf Du Plessis said, "last year the plan was to play in the 2021 T20 World Cup. CSA and I couldn't find something that allows me play overseas, that's why I retired from Test cricket too. CSA wants people that are available all the time". (On Espncricinfo).
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 1, 2021
Meanwhile, South Africa was unfortunate to miss out on a playoff spot in the World Cup despite having won four out of their five league games. Australia reached the knockout stage due to a superior net run-rate.
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