Faf du Plessis steps down as South Africa captain from all formats

Faf du Plessis, steps down as South Africa Captain on Monday. He also stated that he will give his full support to De Kock and Mark, who is expected to take the role as captains.

Faf du Plessis has faced much criticism after the disastrous World Cup campaign and horror start to 2019-20 season. On Monday, he confirmed that he would relinquish the captaincy from all formats.

Du Plessis, in the statement, revealed that he reflected on a lot of things in his time away from the game and took the decision to give up captaincy taking into account the best interests of South African cricket. 

The 35-year-old, who was left out of the limited-overs leg of the England tour, further attested that he would lend his full support to coach Mark Boucher and wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock, who is expected to fully take over the reins from the middle-order batsman after having led the side in the ODIs and T20Is against England.

“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,” du Plessis said in a statement, reported Cricbuzz.

“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.”

South Africa’s next assignment will be the three-match ODI series against India, starting March 12.