Is Faf du Plessis retired: The former South African captain continues to be a hotshot in T20 leagues across the globe.
Advertisement
Considering the extent of reports doing the rounds in the media, it could be anytime that the Johannesburg franchise of the upcoming South Africa T20 League announce their list of pre-signed five cricketers before the auction for the inaugural season next year.
Owned by Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings owners, Johannesburg are said to have acquired the services of former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and England all-rounder Moeen Ali.
Assuming the same emerges out to be the truth, it will add another team to du Plessis’ elongated T20 resume. Having said that, it won’t be a novel association for either of du Plessis or Ali. While the South African had represented Chennai in seven IPL seasons before leading Royal Challengers Bangalore this year, Ali is a part of the current CSK squad.
Currently leading Northern Superchargers in The Hundred 2022, du Plessis has also played for Comilla Victorians (Bangladesh Premier League), St Lucia Kings (Caribbean Premier League) and Quetta Gladiators (Pakistan Super League) since last playing a T20I for South Africa.
Is Faf du Plessis retired from international cricket?
du Plessis, 38, had announced his Test retirement 18 months ago to focus more on T20s. It was about a week after playing his last Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi that du Plessis had called time on his Test career last year.
As far as white-ball formats are concerned, du Plessis continues to remain an active international cricketer. However, despite making his priorities public, du Plessis hasn’t represented South Africa in white-ball cricket since Test retirement.
“The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be,” du Plessis had said while announcing Test retirement.
“I strongly believe that I have a lot to offer to the Proteas in this format. This does not mean that ODI cricket is no longer in the plans, I’m just making T20 cricket the priority in the short-term.”
Back then, du Plessis had further spoken about speaking to CSA (Cricket South Africa) in order to find a “solution” with respect to balancing between international cricket and T20 leagues. That said, a solution is yet to be found between both the parties. While CSA want du Plessis to commit to South Africa in totality, du Plessis remains keen on playing T20 leagues around the world as well.
Since his last international match, du Plessis has played 57 T20s scoring 1,749 runs at an average of 35.69 and a strike rate of 134.54 including two centuries and 11 half-centuries.
