Kolkata: This has to be news. On one hand, Ab de Villers’ Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate Virat Kohli, is growing from strength to strength as a skipper and a player, but on the other hand, the former has decided to step down as the captain of the South African Test side.
According to NDTV Sports, de Villiers paves way for Faf du Plessis and he himself advocates du Plessis’ elevation as the skipper in Test matches. “The interests of the team must always outweigh the interests of any individual, including me. It was a fantastic honour for me to be asked to captain the Test side but I have missed two series and I am still in doubt for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Following the squad’s outstanding performances in Australia, it is clearly in the greater interests of the team that Faf du Plessis should be confirmed as the permanent Test captain,” he has been quoted.
Quit an irony, that two fierce competitors like Kohli and de Villiers, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) meet different turn of events almost at the same time. While Kohli led India to an unassailable lead in the Test series against England, injuries have had an effect on de Villiers who took over from Hashim Amla in January this year. The 32-year-old de Villiers has an average of 50.46 in 106 Tests for his country.
Yes, injury has been a problem for de Villiers. The swashbuckling batsman after skippering the team in two Tests against England, was left out of the Protean scheme of things owing to injury. He had to miss the series against New Zealand and Australia. According to NDTV Sports, de Villiers would not be part of the South African team in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka having not recovered from an elbow injury.
But de Villiers is in awe of du Plessis when he adds, “I have known Faf for almost 20 years, ever since we played in the same school side at Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, and he will have my unequivocal support if he is asked to continue leading this exciting Proteas Test team.”
Cricket South Africa Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, points out, “AB has always carried himself as a true team player and his decision to step down confirms his attitude to put the team first. It is no surprise that the CSA Board has confirmed Faf du Plessis as the Test captain to take over from AB.”
For du Plessis having faced controversies after the ball tampering allegations in Australia recently, it would be a new challenge for him to prove his detractors wrong.