Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis revealed that he is in talks with their Proteas head coach Rob Walter over his return to the national side in the limited format of the game. The 38-year-old is currently leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League and has been the leading run-scorer in the cash-rich league in IPL 2023.
The classy right-handed batter retired from Test cricket in February 2021. Despite performing well in different T-20 leagues worldwide, the 38-year-old has been overlooked for South Africa from limited-overs cricket as he has experience playing cricket all over the globe.
Speaking to NDTV Sports, Faf du Plessis expressed his gratitude to the new head coach for keeping in the discussion for the return to the Proteas team and said that the conversation is currently based on his physical condition to play at the highest level.
“I’m very grateful that the new coach has reached out to tell me that he would like me to be a part (of the team). At the moment, it’s just conversations to talk about where I’m at physically,” Faf du Plessis said.
“I’ve been struggling with a tennis elbow for about a year now. I’ve had some injections into that… It’s a conversation where I feel like you got to look at the balance of where I’m at physically, emotionally, and mentally. Right now, that balance is really good,” he added.
Since his final Test, the right-handed batter has averaged 33.91 in 90 innings scoring 2747 runs in the PSL, CPL, IPL, BPL, BBL, and SA20, including four centuries in the T20 leagues. His 369 runs in 11 matches with a strike rate of 147.60 was the second-highest in the inaugural edition of the SA20.
In IPL 2023, Faf du Plessis has been batting at their absolute best for the Bangalore side as he scored 631 runs in 12 matches at an average of 57.36 at a colossal strike rate of 154.27 looking as fit as ever, looking to take his side to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time.
50-over Cricket Is Different Story, Obviously, It’s Longer Format – Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis hinted that he might not return to the side for the 2023 ODI World Cup as the 50-over format is a different ball game altogether and said that the discussion is more based on T20 World Cup in 2024, where he can provide the opening option alongside Quinton de Cock. The veteran batter last played a T20I contest against England in late 2020.
“50-over cricket is a different story, obviously It’s a longer format. You’re on the field a lot more… We’ll cross that bridge after the IPL, moving into the latter part of the year.
“More than anything, we’ve spoken about the T20 World Cup next year in July, which is something we both want to make happen. That will be the focal point,” Faf du Plessis added.
The opening batter has represented h-africa-tour-of-india-2022/ in 50 T20Is since making his debut in 2012. He has scored 1528 runs at a strike rate of 134.38. His value has risen with his performances in various T20 franchise leagues.