Faf Du Plessis Still In Our Plans: Linda Zondi Confirms

On Tuesday, South Africa’s selectors named the 15-man squad for the ODI series against England, led by Quinton De Kock. Following the World Cup debacle, they decided to look towards the future and hence Faf Du Plessis faced an axe not only as the skipper but also from the team. However, acting selection convenor Linda Zondi confirmed that the 35-year old is still in the scheme of things and hasn’t been entirely overlooked.

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Under Du Plessis, the Proteas managed to earn only three victories in the 2019 World Cup and finished seventh in the points table. The South Africans are also struggling in the ongoing four-match Test series against the Englishmen which they are trailing by 2-1 with one to play. The veteran has also indicated that the fourth Test in Johannesburg could be his last on the home turf.

Zondi backed up the snubbing of Du Plessis by saying that he is still part of their plans since he is not retired, but in terms of the future, it was vital to look at other options. Zondi further mentioned that the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Du Plessis would be an essential part of the T20 World Cup later this year; hence it is crucial to keep a check on their workload.

“He hasn’t retired. He is still in our plans, but it is important in terms of succession plans that we look at other options. It is the same for KG(Rabada). It is about managing workloads and this is an important year for us in T20 Cup with the World Cup coming up towards the end of the year. It is just about giving opportunities to other guys.” Zondi said as quoted by ANI News.

Zondi addresses Anrich Nortje’s exclusion as well:

Linda Zondi also gave insights on Anrich Nortje’s exclusion from the limited-overs squad by saying that he was part of their 2019 World Cup plans, but unfortunately got injured in the nick of time. Furthermore, he has been copping plenty of burden in the Test series. Thus, the selectors aren’t risking him.

“Anrich was going to be one of our key bowlers at the World Cup before he got injured and he has been bowling a lot in the Test series, so there is no way we are throwing him or anyone else away.” Zondi added.

After the four-match Test series, South Africa will square off against England in three ODIs and three T20Is. The first ODI begins on the 4th of February in Cape Town.

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