Faf du Plessis, the former captain of South Africa, has clarified that while he gave up the leadership role following a very difficult run, he is still fully dedicated to playing for his country.
Speaking on Monday, former South African captain Faf du Plessis reaffirmed his commitment to the national team, even though he stepped down from leadership after a particularly exhausting campaign. Through a pre-recorded interview with Cricket South Africa, the 35-year-old shared the reasoning behind his February exit. Furthermore, he revealed that it was his own request to be rested during the majority of the last campaign's limited-overs matches.
\"Looking back, the last season was probably the most challenging of my career, mainly because I was dealing with a variety of issues that had nothing to do with the game itself,\" he remarked.
Although he didn't specify exactly what those 'issues' were, the period was defined by administrative chaos within South African cricket. This turmoil included the suspension of chief executive Thabang Morne and a leadership overhaul that saw Mark Boucher take over as coach and Graeme Smith step in as director of cricket.
Du Plessis described the experience as an \"emotional rollercoaster\" that began with a disappointing showing at the 2019 World Cup in England. The situation worsened during a tour of India, where a raw team and an inexperienced coaching staff were overwhelmed, resulting in crushing losses in all three Test matches.
It got even tougher when South Africa went to India with an inexperienced team and coaching staff and suffered heavy defeats in all three Tests.
\"I was ready to fight, but the intense pressure the Indian side applied eventually pushed us to our breaking point,\" he confessed. \"It became clear that as a Test outfit, we were nowhere near the standard we aimed for.\" This led to a period of intense struggle.
“It was obvious to me that as a Test team we weren’t near where we wanted to be.”
‘The good fight’
Heading into the 2019/20 season, Du Plessis was regarded as one of the Proteas' most effective Test captains, boasting 17 wins from 29 games. However, even with Mark Boucher's leadership and Jacques Kallis providing batting expertise, the team struggled. Following the India disaster, they suffered a 3-1 home series loss to England, leaving him with an overall record of 18 wins and 15 losses across 36 Tests. \"At that point, the criticism started focusing on me, and I felt the weight of it all. I knew I had given everything I possibly could for the Proteas and fought the good fight,\" he explained.
But despite Boucher’s appointment, backed by the experience of Jacques Kallis as a batting consultant, the defeats in India were followed by a 3-1 home loss in a home series against England which meant he finished with an 18-15 win-loss record in 36 Tests.
“Then the pressure really started pointing towards me and a lot of energy was pushed towards me. I just felt at the time that I had been fighting the good fight for the Proteas and I gave it my absolute everything,” he said.