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Cricket PlayersCricket South Africa director Graeme Smith makes big comment about AB de Villiers return, reveals succession plan in ODIs
de Villiers has been in talks with the board about his willingness to return to the national team in T20 cricket and with the ICC T20 World Cup slated for later this year, the board is keen to have him back.
South African cricket has been stuck in a quagmire of late with several top players either retiring or opting for the Kolpak deal. This has led to a vacuum in the national side and the performance of the team has faltered at the international level. Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has been recently appointed director of Cricket South Africa and one of biggest tasks currently is to oversee AB de Villiers’ smooth return to the limited overs side.
de Villiers has been in talks with the board about his willingness to return to the national team in T20 cricket and with the ICC T20 World Cup slated for later this year, the board is keen to have him back.
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“I think it is great that AB has expressed his desire to be back in the system. Those chats (with De Villiers) aren’t formal, but we are looking at options around the T20 World Cup. We would be stupid not to look at the free agents who play in most T20 around the world,” Smith was quoted as saying by The Cricket Times.
de Villiers is currently playing in the Big Bash League in Australia and is slated to make an appearance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL later this year.
South African captain Faf Du Plessis has made it known that he doesn’t see himself in the squad to play the 2020 ICC World Cup and the decision about who will succeed him in ODIs as skipper is a big one to make. But Smith it seems has already identified the candidate.
“It has been our intention to put a succession plan in place for 2023. We see him playing a role, but from a leadership perspective, we see an opportunity to move forward in the one-day arena. And Faf is honest he won’t be around in 2023. Leadership has been an issue in South African cricket, and we felt we should give Quinnie (Quinton de Kock) an opportunity,” added Smith.
