According to reports, veteran South African batsman Faf du Plessis is poised to rejoin the national side’s white-ball squad. Despite retiring from international cricket in 2021, the star player has continued to participate in T20 leagues around the world.
Du Plessis’ last appearance in white-ball cricket for South Africa was in a T20I match against England in 2020, while his final ODI was against Australia in the 2019 World Cup. A recent article in the Rapport Newspaper reveals that the batter has had a meeting with South Africa’s new coach, Rob Walter.
While Walter will be responsible for coaching South Africa’s ODI and T20I teams, Shukri Conrad will take charge of their red-ball setup. Walter is expected to announce his first T20I squad on March 6th for the upcoming series against the West Indies.
Given his impressive form in the inaugural SA20 2023 tournament, where he captained the Stephen Fleming-coached Joburg Super Kings, the chances of Du Plessis making a return to the national squad are said to be very high. The 38-year-old scored 369 runs at an average of 41.00 and a strike rate of 147.60 during the recent SA20 season.
Faf du Plessis Open to Discussing with South Africa’s Limited-Overs Coach Rob Walter
According to reports, Faf du Plessis has expressed his willingness to meet with South Africa’s current limited-overs coach, Rob Walter. In a statement quoted by Wisden, Du Plessis stated that he was looking forward to the conversation and that it wasn’t just about him, but about ensuring that South African cricket was as strong as possible.
Du Plessis went on to say that he had heard that both he and Walter were committed to bringing together the strongest cricket minds and ensuring that the South African team was taken to where it needed to be.
Currently playing for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Du Plessis has previously played two successful seasons with the Chennai Super Kings before joining RCB in 2022. He was named captain of RCB and led the team to the playoffs in the previous season.
In addition, Du Plessis showcased his sublime form in the recently concluded SA20 tournament, where he scored 369 runs with an impressive average of 41 and a strike rate of 147.6 while playing for Joburg Super Kings.
