CSA Names Dean Elgar As South Africa Test Captain; Temba Bavuma To Lead Proteas In ODIs And T20Is

In a massive development, Cricket South Africa relieved Quinton de Kock of the captaincy of the national team in all formats. Instead, CSA has named Dean Elgar as the new Test captain, while Temba Bavuma was named the captain in the ODIs and T20I format.

They will take over from Quinton de Kock, who instead had taken over from Faf du Plessis in white-ball formats last February and was asked to step in as temporary Test captain for the 2020-21 summer. However, in his captaincy, South Africa beat Sri Lanka at home in Tests, but lost to Pakistan in Pakistan 2-0, in what was their first Test tour to the country in 14 years.

“We are grateful to Quinton for the work he has put in as captain of the team in the limited-overs formats and are indebted to him for stepping up while the National Selection Panel continued its search for the Test captain. We as CSA are pleased with the appointments of Temba and Dean and believe that we have the men who will lead the Proteas back to their winning ways of old,” CSA chief Graeme Smith said.

One of the reasons De Kock was relieved of captaincy was his performance as a batsman while leading the South African team. He managed only 74 runs in six innings of the four Tests he captained, at a forgettable average of 12.33 with a high score of 29.

Temba Bavuma To Lead South Africa In 2021 And 2022 T20 World Cups And 2023 World Cup

Temba Bavuma, who has played only six ODIs and eight T20Is so far, will also be vice-captain of the Test team. He will captain the Proteas in the upcoming two T20 World Cups in 2021 in India and 2022 in Australia. He will also lead the team in the 2023 World Cup to be played in India.

“Captaining the Proteas has been a dream of mine for many years as those closest to me would know. This is one of the greatest honors of my life so far. The responsibility of captaining one’s country is not one I take lightly, and I am looking forward to this new challenge and journey with Dean in the Test cricket format, as well as leading the team to not just one, but three ICC World Cups in the very near future,” said Bavuma.

Dean Elgar Will Lead The Test Side In The Next Cycle Of The World Test Championship

Dean Elgar has previously been stand-in captain of South Africa whenever Faf du Plessis was unavailable, has been the mainstay of Proteas batting for the last decade or so, playing 67 Tests, making 4260 runs, and 13 hundreds.

“Temba and I know more than most the challenge that we have ahead of us in returning the Test squad back to its winning ways, but I know that we’re both more than ready for the task at hand. I’m looking forward to bringing stability back into the team and laying a solid foundation for us to be able to accomplish the ambitions we all have to see the Proteas go back to the world’s number one spot in all three formats,” said Elgar.

South Africa’s next assignment will be the home ODIs and T20Is against Pakistan from April 2 to 16 although there is no Test cricket in the near future.

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