Veteran South African player Faf du Plessis has shared his views on his snub from the 2021 World T20 squad, saying that the board’s expectations were hard to fulfil. However, he has missed the T20 World Cup for the first time since making his international debut in 2011 as well.
Although Du Plessis retired from Test cricket, he is active in the limited-overs format. The veteran was also in good form, winning the player of the final award in IPL 2021. However, the selectors didn’t add him to the 15-member squad.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Faf du Plessis said: “I am on a different journey now. Last year when I played for SA against England the plan was very much to play at the World Cup and that was the talk. It was really difficult though for Cricket SA and myself to find something that still allowed me to play overseas because that’s obviously why I retired from Test cricket especially.
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He continued: “They tried to but we couldn’t find a middle ground and I think they wanted people who were available all the time and that made it a challenge for the guys like myself and Imran Tahir because we were playing overseas as well. I think that’s the challenge now because we are playing overseas and they want us to play all the games which is an unrealistic expectation.”
However, Faf du Plessis has a good record in T20Is, amassing 1528 runs in 50 matches at 35.53. The former skipper also has a T20I hundred; however, he is still unlikely to play next year’s T20 World Cup. On the other hand, after South Africa’s 2021 T20 World Cup campaign, head coach Mark Boucher has named that every player will be considered for selection. And, he has said that the board and Du Plessis couldn’t strike an agreement as well.
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“I certainly don’t think the door is closed for anyone. The Faf conversation was had, and unfortunately, it just didn’t work out with the scheduling and all that stuff. It’s been tough during Covid times and bubble life, I understand from his perspective with family, has been very tough. Going forward, hopefully we can get out of bubble life as soon as possible and get back to some sort of normality with regards to touring,” Boucher stated, as quoted by iol.co.za.
