'Maybe he is happy playing T20 leagues': Graeme Smith doubts if senior batter will fit in SA's T20 World Cup squad
While there is no doubt about the fitness of the player, Graeme Smith said that it may be more of a question of team balance and chemistry rather than quality of the player.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that the management group for the Proteas has some difficult decisions to handle, especially around the players who weren’t offered T20I contracts by Cricket South Africa — prime amongst them, Faf du Plessis.
Du Plessis wasn’t part of the South African team that went to the UAE last winter for the 2021 T20I World Cup, already having had retired from the Test set-up. Smith says that he is certain Du Plessis will be fit and ready to go for the World Cup given his form against the world’s top bowlers in the last few editions of the IPL, but mentions it is a matter of chemistry and team balance rather than of quality.
“South Africa have got an equation where they have to figure out what their best XI is. Faf du Plessis is still fit, retired from the longer formats of the game and it’s that challenge that India doesn’t face free agents,” Smith said in an interview with Star Sports. India’s BCCI ensures that players tied down with contracts cannot play in overseas leagues during the IPL’s off-season, meaning that they remain available for selection on international duty.
Du Plessis wasn’t picked for that World Cup and was again overlooked for the 5-match series against India this month that finished at 2-2. In his stead, Temba Bavuma has been leading the Proteas side, bringing them to within a whisker of qualifying from their very difficult group in 2021. He is likely to lead them again in Australia later this year.
Graeme Smith’s questions regarding Faf du Plessis are based on the amount of time the RCB captain will be able and willing to spare for the national team, given his commitments to leagues across the world such as the Caribbean Premier League and the Big Bash. “Players are playing in leagues around the world. How much time can he give to South Africa in the lead up to the World Cup. Do they pick him straight for the World Cup or should he part of the build-up where he understands the team culture, the thinking, training and preparing. India doesn’t face that challenge but for other nations (dealing with) free agents is a difficult one.”
Du Plessis captained RCB this season and scored 468 runs, this coming one season after he fell agonizingly short of winning the orange cap in 2021, losing out by just two runs to his then-opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad. “Maybe he is in that phase of his life where is happy to play the leagues, he is retired maybe from international cricket, maybe that’s where he wants to be,” Smith mentioned.
Smith mentions that South Africa will need to hash out the situation with Du Plessis and several other free agents in the interest of making a settled squad for the future, but given their recent performances in the limited overs games, the selectors for CSA might want to place their eggs in the current team’s basket, showing faith and hoping they will improve upon a strong few months’ worth of performances.