South Africa took a surprising decision to keep Faf du Plessis out of the squad for the upcoming T20I series against India, handing over the captaincy duties to a young, but experienced Quinton de Kock. The move by the selectors seems to be done with sight on T20 World Cup, where De Kock could be the in-charge in place of Plessis.
Also Read: R Ashwin shines on county return, Murali Vijay scores 7 on Somerset debut
Should everything go well for South Africa under De Kock, he will keep the captaincy in the shortest format, which would mean that Plessis, if he keeps his place in the T20I side, will play under his junior at World Cup next year.
“I strongly believe that we have a good enough squad. We have a good leader here. It’s also an opportunity to start building for the future. We know where Faf stands, as a captain and as a player. He’s done great things for South African cricket. We also need to look at what the future looks like. We believe in Quinton, who’s going to be leading the team in this series.” South Africa’s team director, Enoch Nkwe said, clearly hinting that De Kock is the future that they are looking at.
Read More: India vs South Africa 2019: India To Announce Squad For South Africa Tests On September 12th
The results of the three-match T20I series between India and South Africa will play a major role in deciding whether Kock will keep captaincy or will South Africa bring back Plessis.
It is to be noted that Plessis had hinted at quitting the game after T20 World Cup next year. With the teams set to play two T20 Word Cups in next two years, the move to keep De Kock in front also indicates that South Africa are eyeing both the tournaments instead of preparing for just next year’s World Cup.
Under Plessis, South Africa did not have ave a good run at 2019 World Cup as they finished at the seventh spot in the points table. He was later kept out of the T20I squad. Plessis, on his part, continued to play as he took part in Global T20 Canada and recently inked a deal with Kent for T20 Blast.
Also Read: India-Sri Lanka to play three T20Is in India in January 2020 – Report
He will soon be coming to India as the leader of the Test side, a post that he is likely to kee till Plessis plays international cricket.
The India-South Africa series kicks off on September 15 with Dharamsla hosting the first T20I. The next two T20Is will be played on September 18 and 22. The three-match Test series kicks off on October 2. Indi are yet to name the squad for the Test series.