South Africa have sacked their head coach Ottis Gibson a month before his contract was to end. The announcement was made on Sunday, a day after Cricket South Africa held its award function. Gibson was appointed as the head coach of South Africa in 2017, after the away series against England. Prior to that, he worked with England as their bowling coach.
Also Read: Players with most sixes in T20I cricket
Under Gibson, South Africa had a good run in the longest format of the game as they defeated Bangladesh, India and Australia at home. Although the team did not have a great run in limited-overs cricket.
A poor run in the World Cup also marked an end to Gibson’s role as the head coach of South Africa. The Faf du Plessis-led side finished the tournament as the seventh-ranked placed team in the points table, winning three out of eight matches it played.
Since then, few changes were on the cards and South Africa have removed their coach before their next international assignment.
Read More: 10 Cricketers With Most Sixes In T20I Cricket
The board will soon name a manager for the side who will appoint new coach, captain and other members of the coaching staff. The idea has been borrowed from football, where the team manager is the head of the team.
It remains to be seen if Faf du Plessis is retained as the captain of the side or will the manager appoint a new skipper. It is to be noted that Plessis, in 2018, had hinted at retiring from international after T20 World Cup next year and if he plans to do so, then South Africa might name a new captain.
Also Read: Veterans in line to be England’s next head coach
The chances of Aiden Markram taking over the charge are quite high. The right-handed batsman led his side in the home series against India last year (in ODIs) after Plessis was ruled out.
All the appointments are expected to be made before South Africa travel to India next month. Proteas play three T20Is and three Test matches on Indian soil. Markram could lead South Africa in the T20I series if Plessis is also removed as the captain.
Read More: 10 Cricketers With Most Sixes In T20I Cricket
Interestingly, Plessis was named as the South African cricketer of the year on Saturday.