Some time after the second test between South Africa and England ended in Cape Town, Hashim Amla stepped down as South Africa’s test captain. Amla’s decision to step down from his position surprised one and all as it was not thought that he would leave the captaincy midway in the series with two matches still to go. Amla, in particular, had a fantastic second test, as he notched up his double ton.
AB De Villiers, South Africa’ ODI captain will now be leading the test side. Moments after being named the skipper of the test side, De Villiers expressed his elation and said that he was absolutely honored to lead the Proteas in tests. “I’ve said this before that it is an incredible honour to captain South Africa in any format. The captaincy has obviously come at short notice and is the realisation of a lifelong dream,” De Villiers said.
“At the moment my priority and focus is placed on leading this team to what can be a memorable series win against England,” De Villiers said. “This Test squad is motivated and determined to turn our performances around and I’m looking forward to taking up that challenge as captain. Hashim is a good friend and close colleague and I am grateful for his support.”
Amla earlier had said that he was willing to play as a batsman under any skipper. “This decision has not an easy one to make I felt I had to be true to myself,” he said. “I am comfortable with my decision and I feel I need to work on my own game. “I think somebody else can do a better job. It was just something that crossed my mind and was working on my mind. “The decision was made two weeks ago not over the last couple of days. It just so happened I got 200 runs but it has been coming,” Amla had said.