His last white-ball clash for his country was a T20I contest against England in Cape Town at the end of 2020.
Former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has revealed that he is contemplating a comeback to international cricket in time for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year.
Du Plessis hasn’t played an international match since his appearance for South Africa in the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2021. His last white-ball clash for his country was a T20I contest against England in Cape Town at the end of 2020.
However, the 39-year-old has been performing exceptionally well at the domestic level in recent times. He was the second-highest run-scorer at this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League, trailing only Shubman Gill. Du Plessis contributed an impressive 730 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 14 innings.
Du Plessis is currently in Abu Dhabi, participating in another domestic tournament. He has indicated that he has been in discussions with Rob Walter, the new South Africa white-ball coach, regarding a potential comeback to the international scene before the commencement of the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies next year.
“I believe that I can return to international cricket,” du Plessis said.
“We have been speaking about this for the last couple of years. It’s just figuring out the balance of the T20 World Cup next year. It’s certainly something we have spoken about with the new coach.”
Faf du Plessis, the former captain of South Africa, led the team in two T20 World Cup campaigns in 2014 and 2016. However, he has not been considered for the last two editions of the tournament, despite never officially retiring from international white-ball cricket.
Recently, the South African team selector, Linda Walter, hinted at the possibility of du Plessis and other experienced players making a comeback. He mentioned a group of players who were not considered for the upcoming tour of India.
“Given that some of our frontline bowlers are missing out and there are guys – let me throw it out there just to create some media hype – like Faf (du Plessis) and Rilee (Rossouw) as well as Quinny (de Kock) that could well be considered for a T20 World Cup,” Walter said.
“And then also the (South African domestic tournament) SA20 that happens next year – 80 percent of the side picks itself but there is definitely a space for other guys to get themselves into the conversation.”
Although du Plessis no longer possesses a central playing contract with South Africa, he boasts an impressive record of 23 international centuries across all three formats. Despite this setback, he firmly believes that he remains in excellent physical condition to make a comeback and represent his country in cricket once again.
“I do a lot of hard work to ensure I look after my body to be able to play this brilliant game we love so much,” he added.
“When you do get a little bit older, you have to make sure you put in the work.
“Otherwise, the hamstring and other body parts do not work that well.
“There is a lot of fast running and a lot of stuff to make sure that level where you can play against the best players in the world.”
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