ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Don’t Be A Coach With Agendas - AB de Villiers Bluntly Backs Faf du Plessis' WC Selection
Published - 13 Jan 2024, 07:34 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:25 AM
Former South African batsman Faf du Plessis has been one of the most unfortunate cricketers in the present South African team. Despite being in decent form, du Plessis was not given chances to play by the South African selectors due to which he had to take retirement from the Test format but is still available to play the white ball format.
Faf du Plessis is still at his best as is currently part of the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 2024. du Plessis also leads the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and scored 730 runs from 14 games in IPL 2023 and was the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.
Even former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers believes that if Faf du Plessis is available to play in the T20 World Cup, the selectors should pick him for the tournament. de Villiers urged the selectors to be more open in their approach.
While attending a Q & A session on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers gave the example of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and stated that a team shall play their best players in any tournament.
AB de Villiers backs Faf du Plessis’ selection for the T20 World Cup
AB de Villiers said, “We’ve covered this before with Rohit [Sharma] and Virat [Kohli] as well. Whoever is the best player for the team to go and win a World Cup, you play him. It’s pretty one-dimensional just to say, ‘no, we just pick from our domestic players and that’s it’.”
“If Faf du Plessis is the best player for the Proteas in the T20 World Cup coming up, pick him. If he’s not, don’t pick him. It’s as simple as that. Follow his progress. Have a look at his passion, his form, his shape. Is he hitting the ball well? Is he playing the best cricket of his life or not. And is he a perfect fit for a No. 3 or No. 4 or opening spot for our team in this World Cup? If the answer is yes pick him.”
“Don’t be a coach with an ego and with all kinds of agendas, which I have dealt with so many times in my career, unfortunately.”
Faf du Plessis played his last T20I match for South Africa in December 2020 and since then has been out of the side. du Plessis has played 50 T20I matches for South Africa and has scored 1528 runs at an average of 35.53. He also has one hundred to his name and his highest score has been 119.
Faf du Plessis was part of the Abu Dhabi T10 league held in December last year.
South Africa are currently undergoing a transition phase wherein a lot of their top players are retiring and the new players are coming up to showcase their talent. However, if Faf du Plessis is picked for the T20 World Cup 2024, he will bring in a lot for the Proteas.
