CSA Had Unrealistic Expectation From Players To Be Available All The Time, Asserts Faf du Plessis
Published - 02 Dec 2021, 01:25 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 08:58 PM
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis opened up about his T20 World Cup snub from the national team.
Faf is one of the great batters South Africa has produced in their history. The 37-year-old has played 50 T20I matches and was their longest T20I captain between 2012-2019, standing in 37 games as the team’s leader.
Du Plessis and senior leg-spinner Imran Tahir were not included in South Africa’s T20 World Cup by Cricket South Africa (CSA). Subsequently, the national board faced backlash from experts and fans for their decision.
I am on a different journey now: Faf du Plessis
Du Plessis said that the board had very unrealistic expectations from players to be available in all fixtures.
“I am on a different journey now. Last year, when I played for South Africa against England in the series there, the plan was still very much to play in the World Cup. And the talks were that leading up to that. But at that time, it was just really difficult for Cricket South Africa and myself to find something that allows me to still play overseas,” du Plessis told ESPNcricinfo.
“That was the reason why I retired from Test cricket. They tried to, but we couldn’t find a middle ground and I think they wanted people that are available all the time.
That made it a challenge for the guys like myself and Imran Tahir, because we were playing overseas [franchise leagues] as well. I think that’s the challenge now, because we are playing overseas, if they don’t want us to play all the games, it’s probably an unrealistic expectation,” he added.
I’m in a really good condition to play: Faf du Plessis
Du Plessis led St Lucia Kings to CPL 2021 final but did not play in the final match against eventual title holders St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
With 633 runs from 16 games in IPL 2021, Du Plessis was the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2021.
The former South African skipper believes that he is physically and mentally fit to play the game.
“I still feel physically like I’m in a really good condition to play for however long I want to play, so I’m fortunate that physically I can do that,” Du Plessis said.
“For me, age doesn’t really matter, like it would for someone else maybe. It’s the mental freshness and the motivation that become the two challenges for me. And I’m still very motivated,” he added.
Du Plessis has scored 11,198 runs from 262 matches across all formats in international cricket.
